Three Goal Afternoon from Dip Catapults GA Soccer to 10-2 Victory over WCCC

McKeesport, Pa. - With tremendous effort from every player on the roster, the Penn State Greater Allegheny men's soccer team put up a 10-2 triumph over Westmoreland County Community College, Thursday afternoon.

Fifteen minutes into the first half, freshman forward Kyle Griffin (West Mifflin, Pa./West Mifflin) tapped the ball past the goalies hands and placed an empty netter to give GA their first goal of the day, 1-0. Not even five minutes later, sophomore midfielder Marin Marina (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) took the ball to the right of the goal and shot lower left of the net, 2-0 GA. 

Just under 90 seconds later, sophomore midfielder Bimal Bhattarai (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) received a pass from junior midfielder Gerardo Diaz Perez (Mayaguez, Puerto Rico/Immaculate Conception Academy) from the center of the field beyond the 18, kicking it left of the goalies hands, 3-0.

Freshman midfielder Ricardo Dip (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Commonwealth) took a penalty kick at the 25th minute and placed it in the lower right of the net, GA moving up to a 4-0 lead. With less than ten minutes to play in the first half, Dip stripped the ball from a WCCC defender around the 18 and hammered a zinger to the back of the mesh, 5-0 advantage going into the half.

Seven minutes into the second half, Diaz Perez receives a pass from sophomore midfielder Nick Andrews (Penn Hills, Pa./Serra Catholic) and blasts it into the left of the net, 6-0 GA. A few minutes later, Diaz Perez was on the assisting side as he served freshman midfielder Belmo Nurkic (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) a beautiful cross to the left of the net and just unleashes it through the right side of the net, 7-0 GA standout. 

A little confusion in front of the net resulted in WCCC's first goal of the game, 7-1 GA. In the 76th minute, Dip passes a nice ball up the middle to sophomore midfielder Jake Thieret (Port Vue, Pa./South Allegheny), moving it past the goalies gloved and posting the 8th goal of the game for the Lions. 

Less than 30 seconds later, Andrews moves the ball to Dip as he fired a hard shot to the right of the goalie's hands for his third and final goal of the game, 9-1.

WCCC managed one more goal in the 83rd minute to move their final tally to two, but Greater Allegheny was not finished. Senior defender Diwas Timsina (Bhutan/Baldwin (Pa.)) dribled from the corner of the field in, chipping the ball into the net and notching the 10th and final goal for the Lions, finishing 10-2 on the day.

The Greater Allegheny offense posted 35 shots with 19 being on target through regulation. Sophomore goalkeeper Alex Wood (Rockville, Md./St. John's College High) earned his second win of the year, seeing one shot on goal through 83 minutes of action. Freshman Mark Gobbie saw time in net this afternoon, as he also saw one shot on goal through seven minutes.

Dip posted a hat-trick in his nine shots of the game, alongside an assist. Eight other Lions got on the tally board with either a goal or an assist under their belts.

The Greater Allegheny men's soccer team (2-0) looks forward to their first Penn State University Athletic Conference contest of the season. On Wednesday, September 16th, the Lions will travel to Penn State New Kensington for a 4 p.m. first whistle.