Middletown, Pa.– The Penn State Harrisburg men's soccer team put themselves in the hole early giving up a goal in the first three minutes before waking up and turning up the intensity against Mary Washington on Saturday afternoon.
The lions have been working hard and playing good possession soccer throughout this first year of the not so welcoming expansion into the Capitol Athletic Conference. Joining the CAC has definitely been a giant leap forward as far as strength of schedule, but you won't hear this used as an excuse from any of the Blue and White men's soccer program.
They just continue to drive forward and focus on improving this young squad to get a little better each time they come out to the training pitch or game field. Unfortunately today may have been a slight exemption. After giving up an early goal just three minutes into the game, the Lions settled things down and kept their focus; but the first half action felt a little slower than usual as both teams were content to avoid mistakes and focused on keeping the ball in front of their back line. This kept things at 1-0 going into halftime.
In the second half the Lions struggled to find the quick ball movement and creativity to force the Eagles on the heels defensively. Mary Washington did not do anything really exciting either until in the 65th minute they were able to extend their lead thanks to Nick Sheperd's strong finishes past Lion GK Devon Gerhart (Newmanstown, Pa. / Eastern Lebanon County). Gerhart was strong on the night stopping anything he had a chance at.
The Eagles put the game away with a third score in the 77th minute. Harrisburg kept fighting and pushed back to get on the board, but had no luck breaking in behind the Mary Washington defense. Senior Tommy Miller did have a great strike to close out the game hitting the crossbar from 40 yards out as the final whistle blew.
Today's game was very special for the Lion Seniors Tommy Miller
(Palmyra, Pa. / Palmyra), Justin Henderson (Cherry Hill, N.J. / Cherry Hill East), and Nana Nyanteki (Howell, N.J. / Freehold Township) who were honored for their accomplishments throughout their careers.
Nana is our first four-year senior. He has played in 52 matches, the sixth-highest number of any player in program history. He has scored seven career goals, including two game winners. He's added five assists and amassed 19 total points, good enough to rank him top ten all-time. As Coach Donnelly described Nana: "a finer young man and teammate you could not hope to meet. His character and overall contribution to this program, and the way he carried himself, will stay with me for as long as I coach."
Tommy is the second of our four-year players and one of this season's team captains. He's seen time in 62 games, the second-highest total of any player ever. His 14 career goals rank him fourth all-time and his six game-winners place him among the most clutch strikers in school-history. He's racked up 33 points and five assists; both top five career numbers. As Coach Donnelly said of Tommy: "I have had the privilege of playing with and against some of the top players in soccer, and the way Tommy strikes the ball is right up there with the very best of them. He is an incredibly smart player, a super-nice person and a dream of a player to coach."
Justin is our third four-year senior and another of this year's captains. His 60 matches played rank him third all-time in program-history. He's scored 14 career goals and amassed 36 total points; both numbers are good enough to place him fourth on the all-time list. He's also added eight assists and netted two-game winning scores. In the words of Coach Donnelly: "Justin is Mr. Penn State Harrisburg himself. He has been a leader and a great example to all present and future players. This campus and soccer program will never quite be the same when this young man graduates."
This group of seniors are going to be remembered as the turning point for Penn State Harrisburg soccer (in addition to the premier coaching quality head coach Donnelly has added to the program). Their efforts on and off the field have been a quality example for the younger players to learn from. These men have all taken on the role of being leaders and putting the team above themselves. The Blue and White faithful will definitely miss seeing them on the pitch, but their legacy will not be forgotten as we will see their leadership, effort, and work rate in the new crop of future stars that they had such a large role in developing.
Penn State Harrisburg heads to St Mary's Sunday for a make-up game hoping to earn their first CAC win.