ERIE, Pa. – The No. 2 Penn State Behrend men's soccer team advanced to the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) championship game with a 4-1 win over No. 3 Mount Aloysius on Wednesday afternoon.
Score: No. 20 Penn State Behrend 4, Mt. Aloysius 1
Records: No. 20 Penn State Behrend (18-1), Mt. Aloysius (15-6)
Key Moments:
* The Lions will face No. 1 Medaille in the championship game on Saturday. The Mavericks defeated No. 4 Franciscan 1-0 in the other semifinal
* Behrend will appear in its 21st AMCC final in program history thanks to two goals and one assist from Richard Blanchard (Erie, PA/Cathedral Prep)
*Blanchard assisted Michael DiCola (Beaver, PA/Beaver) on the first goal of the game in the 23rd minute
* DiCola scored on a header off the corner kick taken by Blanchard for a 1-0 lead
* Blanchard tallied his fourth game-winning goal less than seven minutes later on a through ball into the box from Sean Abraham (Oakmont, PA/Oakmont)
* After taking a two-goal lead at halftime, the Lions added two more before the Mounties got on the board
* The next two goals came in a span of 16 seconds, first one came from Aaron Harris (Washington, PA/McGuffey) and then Blanchard tallied his second of the game seconds later
* Harris finished his ninth goal of the season off a quick pass from Tyler Vandemerwe (Erie, PA/Cathedral Prep) inside the box to make it 3-1
* Nick Shideler (Gibsonia, PA/Pine Richland) got the final assist on Blanchard's second goal of the game in the 53rd minute for a commanding lead
* Mt. Aloysius goalie James Eyre made three stops in the first half, including one on a penalty kick before the Lions scored their first goal
Next Up:
* The Lions will travel to Buffalo, NY on Saturday to avenge their only loss of the season against the Medaille Mavericks. Game time is to be announced.