ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's soccer team tallied four second-half goals en route to defeating Penn State Altoona 5-1 in the semifinals of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) tournament on Thursday afternoon.
With the win, the Lions (16-3) earned a spot in the AMCC final for the 14th time in 16 years.
Just 12 days ago, Behrend fell behind Altoona in the first half before being defeated 2-1 in double overtime. This time around it was the Lions who came out fast. Jake Gamble (Butler, PA/Butler) put Behrend on the board in the 24th minute after receiving a great pass from junior Eric Vunovic (North Hutingdon, PA/Norwin). The Lions took the 1-0 lead into the break.
In the 58th minute, Vunovic started a scoring frenzy. Vunovic put Behrend up 2-0 on a lob pass from Gamble. Just over two minutes later, Jimmy Belack (Upper St. Clair, PA/Upper St. Clair) intercepted a pass from Altoona and led the breakaway. With only the keeper to beat, Belack fired a quick low shot to the back of the net for the Lions' third goal.
Penn State Altoona answered to cut the deficit to 3-1 in the 61st minute. Behrend came right back though after Gamble recorded his second goal of the day at the 63:54-minute mark to pad the lead. The Lions recorded an own goal less than two minutes later for their final goal of the game. All in all, five goals were scored and two assists were tallied in the seven-minute span.
Stingy defense helped Behrend secure the 5-1 victory and setup a rematch against rival Medaille in the AMCC championship game.
Gamble's five points increased his season total to 44, setting a new single-season school record.
The Lions will take on the Mavericks at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Behrend soccer field. The Lions are 3-1-1 against Medaille in their last five meetings. In last season's title match, Behrend ended a three-year reign by Medaille after defeating the Mavericks, 1-0.
