ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. - In a rematch of last year's thrilling United East Championship Game, Penn State Harrisburg battled back from a halftime deficit to come away with a pivotal 2-2 draw at conference rival St. Mary's (Md.) on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 7.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Penn State Harrisburg (4-4-5, 1-0-2 United East) trailed 1-0 at halftime but the Lions roared to life after the break and netted a pair of goals early in the second half to draw even before holding on for the valuable tie with the regionally-ranked Seahawks (5-3-3, 0-1-1 United East).
The evenly-matched contest was a back-and-forth affair that saw a scoreless first half for 44-plus minutes until the home team's Elliot Hodges found the back of the net off an assist from Garrett Bridgwater with 57 seconds left before the break.
Head coach Anthony Gehman's halftime adjustments proved effective, however, as evidenced by Kobe Harris' equalizer off a perfectly-placed Daniel Fombu cross in the box just 40 seconds into the second half.
St. Mary's answered back less than five minutes later when Jason Caro gave the home team its second lead of the day with a marker off an Alex Ochman find in the 50th minute but the Lions responded in a big way when Jaden Longdon blasted home a goal from more than 30 yards out just 69 seconds later to pull even with 38:36 remaining.
The Seahawks had a few decent looks and got off three shots on goal in the final 30 minutes but Penn State Harrisburg goalkeeper Hossam Aly was game and made saves on all three attempts to preserve the tie and keep the Lions undefeated in conference play.
NOTABLES
- Harris' marker was his second goal of the season and second in as many games.
- Fombu's assist was his second of the fall. He now has eight total points on the year.
- Longdon's equalizer was his second goal of the season.
- Each team got off 14 shots.
- The Seahawks earned seven corner kicks. The Lions managed six.
- Aly made five saves in goal for Penn State Harrisburg.
WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions travel to Washington & Jefferson for a non-conference tilt on Tuesday night.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can keep up with Penn State Harrisburg Athletics all season long on Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Threads, and Youtube using the handle @pshbgathletics.