MEDIA, Pennsylvania -
The Howard Payne University men's soccer team has beaten Penn State Brandywine by a score 6-0 on Saturday afternoon. This result goes into the HPU men's soccer record book, as this is at least the fourth time in program history the Yellow Jackets have scored six goals in a match, and the first since 2017 against Louisiana College.
It was all Howard Payne. In the first half, the Yellow Jackets set the tempo early that would continue throughout the 90 minutes. The aggressive pressure demonstrated by HPU made the Nittany Lions uncomfortable. Howard Payne tested John Schild, the Nittany Lions GK, early through the shots by Kolby Lara and Francisco Perez.
Lara put HPU on the board with his second goal in two games and his second collegiate goal after Connor Parker's flick put Lara into a goal scoring opportunity in the 23rd minute. Tristan Merk doubled the Yellow Jackets lead with his first career collegiate goal in the 41st minute. Merk was able to poke the ball past Schild off a cross from Perez.
A 1-0 lead went to a 3-0 lead quickly when Andrew Womack also scored his first collegiate goal right before half. Lara showcased his playmaking ability with a low driven cross into the feet of Womack.
Right after half the Yellow Jackets started to cruise. Parker got himself on the scoresheet to put HPU up 4-0, and Perez's long shot into the top left corner made it 5-0.
Connor Parker recorded a brace to put Howard Payne up 6-0 in the 68th minute. In the end, Howard Payne ended with 24 shots and 16 shots on target.
Goalkeeper CJ Woodward made his first appearance of the season when he came on for Adrian Villa in the 62nd minute, and both keepers were able to keep the clean sheet.
"Big result for the boys," head coach Brandon McGibeny said. "We handled a tough playing surface really well and found some fantastic finishes to put the game away early. I'm more proud of the response out of half time to widen the margin and keep the clean sheet. Sting Em!"
Up Next
The Howard Payne men's soccer team will return home from their road trip in Pennsylvania for their home opener when the Yellow Jackets take on the University of St. Thomas next Saturday on September 19 at 7:00 PM.
