ERIE, Pa – The Penn State Behrend men's soccer team opened the 2017 season Saturday afternoon, defeating DeSales 3-0 in the first round of the Herb Lauffer Memorial Tournament.
Aaron Harris (Washington, PA/McGuffey) got his sophomore year off to a quick start with a pair of goals, scoring one in each half. Matt Dziadosz (Leechburg, PA/Kiski Area) tallied an assist to give him his first point of the season, while freshman Christian Eckberg (Norwin, PA/Norwin) posted his first career collegiate goal in his first start for the Lions (1-0).
Harris set the tone when he took advantage of a redirected ball off the opponent, finishing a shot bar down off the goalpost to give Behrend a 1-0 lead. In the 70th minute, Dziadosz rifled a shot off the goalkeeper and Aaron Harris blasted the deflected save to score his second goal. About 10 minutes later, Eckberg added an insurance goal by placing the ball in the top corner of the net to conclude the scoring for the game.
All-American goalkeeper Chris Ralph, (Murrysville, PA/Franklin Regional) recorded his first shutout of the season while making three saves, including a breakaway early in game. The Lions young defensive line had a strong showing holding DeSales to only seven total shots.
Behrend will be facing Geneseo on Sunday at 2:30 p.m looking to capture the HLM championship.
