Story by Lawrence Malapitan
Arlington, Va. – Penn State Harrisburg traveled to Marymount University on Friday October 9th in a conference match up against the Saints. The home team jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead, but the Lions fought back to win the game 4-3 in dramatic comeback fashion.
After a short lighting delay, the Blue and White started the game strong but were unable to find the back of the net early. Marymount opened the scoring when they scored three consecutive goals on their first three shots. Trailing 3-0 after 30 minutes of play, senior defender Morgan Gates (Harrisburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin) scored the Lions first goal of the game in the 40th minute off a free kick from 35 yards out.
Trailing 3-1 to start the second half, the Blue and White did not have time to waste if their hopes of a comeback could come to fruition. Harrisburg had many scoring chances, but it took until the 68th minute when Alexis Quinn (Warner Robing, Ga. / Milton Hershey) scored her first goal of the season and the Lions second goal of the game off a corner kick making the score 3-2. Her goal was assisted by a very hardworking Leann Kazawick (Stanhope, N.J. / Sussex Tech).
After holding the Saints on their defensive side for most the second half, Harrisburg was finally able to breathe again in the 78th minute thanks to a penalty kick from Sophomore Erica Hile (Ickesburg, Pa. / West Perry) tying the game at three.
Just minutes later the Lions leading scorer Kristen Stark (Lancaster, Pa. / Donegal) scored what would be the game winning goal in the 81st minute thanks to an assist from Gates. The 4-3 win was the second conference victory for Penn State Harrisburg.
Penn State Harrisburg will have a much need three days off before they play their final non-conference game on Tuesday October 13th when they travel to Lancaster Bible. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m.