Lions Kickoff Conference Play Against La Roche

ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's soccer team continues its three-game homestand with the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opener against La Roche on Saturday, Sep. 23. Game time is slated for 4:00 p.m.

Coverage:

Video | Live Stats

Behrend News & Notes:

* The Lions scored a shutout victory, 2-0, over Houghton in a non-conference matchup this past Wednesday at the soccer complex
* Junior Blake Cooper (Murrysville, PA/Franklin Regional) sent a ball in to the box that found the head of Justin LeDonne (Murrysville, PA/Franklin Regional) for his first score of the season and gave Behrend a 1-0 advantage in the 12^th minute
* In the 54th minute, Cooper received a lead pass from teammate Cole Thomas (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin) and deposited the ball in to the back of the net to put Behrend ahead 2-0
* Sophomore Evan Dougal (Gibsonia, PA/Pine-Richland) was strong in his first collegiate start, making four saves and tallying his first collegiate win
* A big play by Dougal came in the 57^th minute when he made a save going one-on-one with a Houghton attacker
* The Lions defense earned their third shutout of the year
* After recording two points in Wednesday's contest, Cooper now leads the team with six points on the season

Meet the Opposition:

* La Roche finished non-conference play with a record of 1-6, dropping its last contest at Muskingum
(2-1)
* The Redhawks lone win came at Thiel by a score of 4-3 on Sep. 14
* Jesus Angel Jimenez and Miles Jackson each have scored two goals apiece, while Samuel Mastroberardino has tallied a team-high three assists and one goal to lead the team with five points
* In net, Kyle Rizzo has started all seven games and made 46 saves
* La Roche returns 13 players from last season's roster and welcomes 11 freshman to the team this year
* The Redhawks were selected to finish ninth in the 2023 AMCC Preseason Poll under first year head coach Chris Karwoski
* Midfielder Antonio Valerio and defender Jake Gorman were listed as players to watch in the 2023 AMCC Preseason Poll

Series History:

* Behrend leads the all-time series 34-3, dating back to 1992
* The Lions have won the last the 19 matchups since 2008 against the Redhawks
* Last season, the Lions defeated La Roche by a score of 6-0