Sept. 25, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State men's soccer dropped its second contest of the season, falling to Lehigh, 1-0, on the road in Bethlehem, Pa., Tuesday night. The Mountain Hawks (1-7-0) scored in the final 60 seconds to down the Nittany Lions (6-2-1, 1-0-0 Big Ten).
Penn State returns home to host Big Ten foe Indiana at 7 p.m. Saturday.
After a scuffle in the 88th minute that saw players from both teams sent off the field, the Mountain Hawks took advantage and sent home the game-winning goal with 49 seconds remaining as Matt Weaver placed a shot past Penn State goalkeeper Andrew Wolverton (Snellville, Ga.) in the left corner of the net. Penn State's John Gallagher and Lehigh's Brian Suchoski were shown red cards in the tangle between the teams.
The goal was the first surrendered by the Nittany Lion defense since Sept. 2 against Georgetown, a span of 505 on-field minutes.
The Nittany Lions created a sizable advantage in shots, 19-8, and corners, 8-3, against Lehigh but failed to score a goal for just the second time this season. Hasani Sinclair (Coral Gables, Fla.) tallied four shots on goal in the effort. Wolverton stopped three shots while claiming all 90 minutes in net for the Nittany Lions. Gallagher (Pine Bush, N.Y.), Owen Griffith (Lewisburg, Pa.) and Akil Howard (Queens, N.Y.) accounted for the three remaining PSU shots on goal.
Neither team produced much offense in the first half as both attacks recorded just one shot on goal. Lehigh challenged first, forcing Wolverton to make a save in the 11th minute against a header by Cameron Omsberg. Sinclair posted the Lions' lone chance in the 42nd minute with a shot to Mountain Hawk keeper Taylor Sulmonetti.
Penn State's offense came alive early in the second half as a turnover and solid passing led to an 18-yard shot from Griffith from the center of the penalty area that caromed off the crossbar in the 50th minute. Sinclair found the rebound, but his ensuing header was stopped by Sulmonetti. In all, the Nittany Lions produced five shots in the first 10 minutes of the second frame.
The Penn State attack kept the pressure on the Mountain Hawk defense through much of the second half, recording another four shots on goal.