ERIE, Pa. – Eric Vunovic (North Huntingdon, PA/Norwin) scored one goal and tallied two assists to help the Penn State Behrend men's soccer team defeat La Roche 3-0 in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) South Region Tournament quarterfinals on Wednesday afternoon.
Midway through the opening half, Vunovic got the Lions (17-4) on the board. Kyle Coonelly (Sewickley, PA/Quaker Valley) led a long pass up the field into the box. Behrend had plenty of attackers, running a 3-on-0 with just the keeper to beat. Vunovic fired a low shot to the back of the net for the game's first goal.
The Lions' defense played strong, keeping the Redhawks off the board in the first half.
With the second half underway, Behrend added a quick insurance goal. Just over two minutes in, Jake Gamble (Butler, PA/Butler) scored his team leading 21st goal off a great lead pass from Vunovic. The duo hooked up again in the 68th minute. Vunovic once again found an open Gamble who beat the keeper to put Behrend ahead, 3-0.
Three Lions' goalies combined to make three saves and preserve the shutout victory.
Behrend will advance to the ECAC South Region Tournament semifinals on Saturday at 11 a.m against the winner of Penn State Abington/Alvernia. The two semifinal games on Saturday and championship game on Sunday will be at the Behrend Soccer Field.
