ERIE, Pa. – Alex Bilka (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) netted the game-winning goal in the 86th minute off a cross from Abbie Schuster (Pittsburgh, PA/Upper St. Clair) to lead Penn State Behrend women's soccer team past Mt. Union 2-1 in non-conference action on Tuesday.
All three goals in the game were scored in the second half, with the Lions (3-2-1) sandwiching two goals around the Purple Raiders (3-1-1) one for the victory. Sam Pace (Erie, PA/Fort LeBoeuf) tallied the first goal for Behrend and Bilka's game winner came just in the nick of time.
At the 85:28 mark, Schuster sent a long cross in from the right side and Bilka had a one-touch volley that blasted past Maria Favorite. The Lions defense prevailed in the final four minutes to give Behrend its second straight win.
After a scoreless and physical first half, Pace cracked the scoreboard with her first collegiate goal in the 49th minute. Lloyd sent a ball in from the midfield and Pace used her speed to beat the defender and send a low-finesse shot into the goal for a 1-0 lead.
Mt. Union, who held a 12-10 shot advantage, did not let up and tied the game in the 57th minute with Gina Wall's goal that sailed into the upper left corner.
With the threat of overtime lurking, Behrend pressed on offense and used the heroics of Bilka to get past the Purple Raiders.
The Lions had a chance in the first half to take the early lead, but Courtney Edwards' (Erie, PA/Villa Maria Academy) first shot of the game hit the crossbar and bounced back into the box.
Behrend returns to action on Saturday at Westminster. The game starts at 1 p.m.
