Middletown, Pa. – The Penn State Harrisburg men's soccer team has been waiting all season for their Capitol Athletic Conference game verse near town rival York College. Adding to the atmosphere was the fact the Spartans came into the game with a 16-2 overall and a 4-1 conference record helping them garner the #8 spot nationally.(www.D3soccer.com)
Harrisburg came out strong, not batting an eye to the Spartans record or ranking. As both teams worked the ball from end to end, York took some of their best opportunities early in the first half. Fortunately, each chance eventual hit the wall in front of the Lions goal known as Brandon Hoover (Lancaster, Pa. / Pequea Valley). Hoover earned four of his seven total saves in the first half stopping the most dangerous opportunities York would have for most of the game early on.
The Lions took their chances at the end of the first half creating two strong scoring opportunities. Their first chance came from a cross that found multiple Lion runs all fighting for a touch toward the goal inside the 18 yard box. As multiple deflections occurred, the ball found Nana Nyanteki (Howell, N.J. / Freehold Township) on the left side all alone; his shot would not be the one to break Harrisburg's multiple game streak without scoring.
With just six minutes to go in the half the Blue and White faithful, along with just about everyone watching, thought a Spartan handball inside the box would be called for a penalty kick. As the ball was cleared away without hearing a whistle, both teams were back to battling for the first goal of this scoreless thriller.
The second half pace slowed a bit, not because the men were tired out, but because the teams had composed themselves; and had to take time to develop anything to get behind either of these stellar defenses. York would eventually break the draw with the cross from the right side deciding it would make a better shot that found its way to the absolute top corner while hitting both the post and crossbar before landing in the net.
With thirty three minutes to go, the Lions started to push forward hoping to tie things up. Unfortunately as the clock painstakingly wound down, so did the scoring opportunities. The Blue and White did get everyone on their feet as a Tommy Miller (Palmyra, Pa. / Palmyra) free kick taken in the final two minutes was left needing only a touch from the outstretched Jonathan Vanaskie (Shamokin, Pa. / Shamokin Area). He could not redirect the tantalizing ball that instead found the York keepers hands.
Despite the 1-0 loss to nationally ranked York, Harrisburg left the game feeling positive about how well they continue to perform against the top level teams in the country. The results have not been what they have hoped, but tonight you could see why the Lions are going to be very dangerous once they find the only missing piece to this top level squad, the finisher.
With two games left and still the possibility of playoffs, the Lions will hope to finish out their season going 2-0 and hoping for a little help to extend their season. Harrisburg travels to Christopher Newport this Saturday before returning home for their final regular season contest against Marymount next Wednesday.