ERIE, PA – The Penn State Behrend men’s soccer team fell short of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference championship after losing in penalty kicks 5-4 to Medaille Saturday.
The Mavericks (16-4-1) outshot the Lions (14-2-4) 9-0 in the shots on goal category on the day. All nine shots were saved by Behrend goalie Chris Bolea who had a spectacular championship debut for the men.
After 110 minutes of scoreless play the conference final would be decided in penalty kicks for only the second time in AMCC championship history.
A questionable coaching decision for the Mavericks would sit the game tested Nick Kurtz down and send Jimmy Frascati into goal. First up for the two teams were Corey Phillips of Medaille and Behrend’s Kyle McKinney. Both shots found the bottom left corner to tally. Next up was Matt Brehm followed by the Lions forward Jerry Tortella, who both connected knotting the score once again at 2-2. Round three was Josh Hall paired up with Josh Teti. Hall’s shot was true while Teti’s goal was blocked by a diving Frascati leaving Medaille with the edge.
Tim Huebsch and George Tor’s attempts missed for the Mavs, the Lions capitalized on Bolea’s great stops by tallying on a Mike Liebdzinski's and Jake Gamble's kicks which gave the men their first advantage (4-3). Medaille would go on to win 5-4 after two unanswered kicks were scored by Patrick Zelko and Eric Schnirel.
You will be able to catch Behrend men’s soccer in the ECAC Southern Division tournament. The schedule will be announced Monday, November 8.