READING, Pennsylvania -- The Howard Payne University men's soccer has beaten the Penn State University Berks Nittany Lions by a score of 3-1Thursday evening in Pennsylvania. This win snaps a two game losing streak HPU was on to open the season.
The Yellow Jackets shot out of the gates with intensity by pressing PSU Berks right off of kickoff. Connor Parker picked up the ball off of a deflection and forced PSU to give away a corner in the first minute.
HPU's aggressiveness paid off in the 8th minute of the match when a Parker through ball put Kolby Lara in an one on one situation with the goalkeeper. Lara was able to take his chance and put the Yellow Jackets on the board.
Lara almost had a chance to make it 2-0 after Josh Montavez found Lara on an over the top pass a few minutes later
Howard Payne found their second goal courtesy of a Penn State Berks own goal. Francisco Perez tested Josh Martin, the Nittany Lions GK, when he found him off of his line. PSU Berks defender Landon Schadt tried to deflect the shot, but ultimately, the ball ricocheted the wrong way and ended up going into the back of the net.
PSU Berks had a chance when Terridine Grant burst forward in the 20th minute, but goalkeeper Logan Laminack rushed forward to collect the ball. At the end of the half, Laminack had two saves, and Howard Payne had five total shots and three shots on target.
In the second the Yellow Jackets changed the game plan to control the game when they had possession with simple, easy passes.
Penn State Berks found a goal in the 87th minute through Sebastian Rios to bring the Nittany Lions to within one. That goal proved to be a consolation goal because on the resulting kickoff, HPU went right back to the aggressive nature shown in the first half by driving down the field.
After a string of passes, Axel Gutierrez found Francisco Perez on the right side of the six yard box. Perez drove the shot across the face of the goal into the left corner to restore HPU's lead to two.
In total the Yellow Jackets had 15 shots and fired eight shots on goal. Laminack made five saves in his first appearance of the season.
"Great response from the team to come into this trip and implement the changes we made," head coach Brandon McGibeny said. "Their effort and intensity was the driving force today, and it was great to see some players get their first goals or assists as well. We will enjoy the win tonight and turn the page to prepare for PSU Brandywine in the morning!"
Up Next
The Howard Payne men's soccer team continues their trip out in Pennsylvania when the team takes on Penn State Brandywine on Saturday, September 12, at 11:00 AM ET/10:00 CT.
