GA Men's Soccer Ties Wilkes-Barre at Three After Tough Hazleton Blank

McKeesport, Pa. - The Penn State Greater Allegheny men's soccer team opened up their 2016-17 Penn State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC) schedule this weekend, as Saturday brought Penn State Hazleton and Sunday brought Penn State Wilkes-Barre.

Saturday brought Penn State Hazleton, a PSUAC force. The initial twenty minutes of the game remained scoreless before Hazleton managed to note two before halftime as Greater Allegheny was held to just six shots in the first half.

The two teams worked hard the next thirty minutes after the break before Hazleton just peppered the Lion defense, knocking a third on freshman goalkeeper Prakash Wagley (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) before he was taken out of the game due to injury. Sophomore goalie Mark Gobbie (Glassport, Pa./South Allegheny) came into the game with less than 15 minutes left on the clock.

Three additional goals in the final minutes of the game resulted in the Greater Allegheny Lions fall to Hazleton, 6-0.

GA kept up with Hazleton in shots, 19-17, as junior forward Marin Marina (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) put up six and freshman Ronnie Caldro marked five. Wagley finished the game with seven shots faced with four saves.

Hazleton's Brandon Yocum stopped all six shots on goal, retaining his perfect game.

After the sour blanking, Greater Allegheny got back on the road and traveled to Penn State Wilkes-Barre for their second and final contest of the weekend.

Fifteen minutes into the first half, Marina posted a penalty kick goal, putting Greater Allegheny on top for the first time this weekend, 1-0. The game remained at a 1-0 GA lead until junior midfielder Nick Andrews (Penn Hills, Pa./Serra Catholic) posted the second Lion goal of the afternoon, 2-0 GA.

Just a minute later, Wilkes-Barre cut the deficit in half, 2-1. Not long after, WB's Sao notched the tying goal before senior midfielder Gerardo Diaz-Perez (Mayaguez, Puerto Rico/Immaculate Conception Academy) found Marina again to put Greater Allegheny ahead, 3-2.

Less than four minutes later, Wilkes-Barre evened the tally at three before the two teams rode out regulation as well as the next two overtime periods in a dead-heat.

Wilkes-Barre and Greater Allegheny went on to end in a 2-2 double overtime tie.

As a team, Greater Allegheny overwhelmed Wilkes-Barre with 33 shots to their eight.

Marina noted eleven shots through the second day as sophomore midfielder/defender Kyle Griffin (West Mifflin, Pa./West Mifflin) posted five.

Greater Allegheny (1-1-1, 0-1-1 PSUAC) will take a break from PSUAC and host Mount Aloysius Tuesday afternoon. Kick-off is set for 4:00 p.m.