SALISBURY, Md. – Coming off two hard fought games against Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) opponents, things didn't get any easier for Penn State Harrisburg when the Lions traveled south to take on another league opponent, this time in nationally-ranked Salisbury. The Blue & White kept the match close throughout but unfortunately for the visitors, the Seagulls (9-2) kept the Lions' offense at bay and did enough to come away with the 3-0 victory.
After fending off three early Salisbury shots, Penn State Harrisburg was unable to turn away the home team's next attempt. Following back-to-back corner kicks, the Seagulls took an early 1-0 lead when Tanner East found Stephen Poorman for the game's first score in the 10th minute.
An early scoring chance for the Lions came in the 21st minute when junior Hakan Demircan (Wiesbaden, Germany / Wiesbaden American) got off the team's first shot. Salisbury goalkeeper Drew Staedeli was up to the task, however, making the save and thwarting the potential equalizer.
Though the unit allowed an early goal, Penn State Harrisburg's defense shut down the Seagulls offensive for the remainder of the first half and into the early portion of the second. But Salisbury would take advantage of another opportunity 13 minutes after the break when Taylor Groginski found Chris Kittelberger on a cross. Kittelberger was able to head his shot past Blue & White goalkeeper Deven Gerhart (Newmanstown, Pa. / ELCO) and up his team's advantage to 2-0.
The Lions tried to answer back two minutes later when senior captain Justin Henderson (Cherry Hill, N.J. / Cherry Hill East) fired off a shot but again Staedeli did his job and denied the visitors a chance to cut the deficit in half. Penn State Harrisburg would never again get a look as good.
The Seagulls got a late goal when Matt Greene fired a shot towards the Lions' goal. Gerhart made the save but Greene followed his attempt and collected his own rebound, putting his second kick past the keeper to give Salisbury a 3-0 lead and ice the game in the 74th minute.
Despite allowing three goals, Gerhart played well in goal and made 11 saves. His defense consisting of the likes of junior captain Michael Jones (Harrisburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin), sophomore Grey Beatty (Harrisburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin East) and freshman Jonathan Vanaskie (Shamokin, Pa. / Shamokin Area) also slowed down a strong Salisbury offense.
The returns of Henderson and Demircan, who each saw significant minutes after being slowed by injury, should help the Lions as they continue to navigate their CAC schedule. Before they get back into league play, however, the men will return home to take on Susquehanna on Wednesday, Oct. 9 in the team's final non-conference game of the season. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.