ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's soccer team edged La Roche 3-2 in a very physical, hard-fought Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) semifinal matchup on Wednesday afternoon.
The Lions (16-2-1) entered Wednesday's contest looking to advance to the AMCC finals for the 17th time in 19 years. The Redhawks (11-9) looked to advance to the championship for the chance to capture their first AMCC title in program history. The Behrend win sent them to the finals to try and take their third straight AMCC crown.
The Lions wasted no time making a statement and getting on the scoreboard. Nick Stewart (Pittsburgh, PA/Keystone Oaks) scored his team-leading 12th goal of the season just 1:15 into the game.
Stewart took a beautiful through ball from Matt Dziadosz (Leechburg, PA/Kiski Area) and dribbled in on La Roche goalie Spencer Wolfe all alone. Stewart calmly took a touch passed Wolfe and placed the ball into the empty net to jumpstart the Behrend offense and give them a 1-0 lead.
The Redhawks had a chance to tie the game at one with a penalty kick in the 14th minute, but Lions goaltender Will Cole (Russell, PA/Eisenhower) was up to the task and made a diving save to keep his team up by one.
Behrend carried the early momentum and controlled most of the play for the next 20 minutes only to be rewarded at the 20:37 mark by junior Anthony Crivelli (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley), complements of a through ball by Christian Harrington (Warren, PA/Warren PA).
Crivelli was able to handle the pass from Harrington and drill a shot to the lower right corner to add to his team-leading point total (26) and give his team a 2-0 advantage.
The Redhawks answered just four minutes later by replicating Crivelli's goal. Elliot Dick took a through ball from Aaron Lagnese that he was able to finish into the lower left corner to cut the Lions' lead in half.
Behrend was not fazed by the La Roche answer, tallying their third goal of the game in the 38th minute. Evan Augustine (South Park, PA/South Park) scored his fourth goal of the season, heading in a corner from Harrington. Augustine is an aerial menace for opposing defenses, recording all four of his goals off corners this season.
Two minutes later, the Redhawks cut the lead to one once again after a shot form Pedro Ansede hit the right post and kicked out to Rocco Galiardi who finished his first goal of the season.
The second half was a much different story than the first. After a five-goal first half, the Lions remarkable team defense was put to the test when a red card put them down a man in the 48th minute.
La Roche tried to take advantage of their man advantage, but the Behrend defense held strong and did not give up their lead. Despite being a man down, the Lions battled and created chances to extend their lead, but the Redhawk defense was able to hold strong as well.
In the 82nd minute, the game was evened back up after a red card from the La Roche side brought them down a man. From there, Behrend controlled the ball once again to close out the game and secure a trip to the AMCC championship game.
The Lions make the trip to Mount Aloysius on Saturday to compete for the AMCC title. The Mounties beat Penn State Altoona 1-0 Wednesday to advance to the championship match themselves. The game time is TBA.
