Men's Soccer takes shorthanded loss to Berkeley College (NJ), 4-2

HAZLETON, Pa. - Penn State Hazleton suffered their second straight loss on Tuesday afternoon, falling 4-2 to visiting Berkeley College (NJ) at Community Park. The Lions finished the final 62 minutes shorthanded, battling back to tie the score at 2-2 in the second half before faltering late in the game. Hazleton played from behind early, and Berkeley attacked from the first whistle, out-shooting the Lions 23-7.

First Half

Berkeley got on the board early as Calvin Carbajal netted a goal at the 3:39 mark of the first half. The Knights tacked on another goal 15 minutes later as Anthony Hernandez extended the lead to 2-0 with 26 minutes left to play in the half.

Perhaps the biggest play of the half came on a Berkeley break during the 28th minute. Sophomore Bernardo Becerra (Lancaster, Pa.) earned a red card after a hard tackle, putting the Lions down a player. 

Second Half

Hazleton came out hot in the second half, as freshman Jason Klusewitz (Mountain Top, Pa.) gathered a pass at the top corner of the box from sophomore Ben Pasukinis (Benton, Pa.) and beat the keeper to cut the deficit in half. 

Hazleton controlled the ball early in the half, but Berkeley regained much of the possession time over the next 20 minutes. Then freshman Isaac Whitenight (Benton, Pa.) hit a free kick from just inside midfield--the ball took a bounce off the ground and another hop right over the keeper's outstretched hand to even the score at 2-2. The momentum would be short-lived as Carbajal scored just three minutes later to give the Knights the last lead they would need. 

Matthew Neto added a goal in the 77th minute to make it 4-2, and despite increasing pressure Hazleton was unable to continue the comeback.

Top Performers

Carbajal scored two goals for the Knights, while Klusewitz impressed for Hazleton. Freshman goalkeeper Brandon Yocum (Bloomsburg, Pa.) recorded 16 saves, but was pummeled with shots as Berkeley fired 20 on goal, including 17 in the first half.

Next up

Hazleton returns to the pitch after three days off to start conference play, hosting Penn State Greater Allegheny on Saturday, September 10th at 4:30 p.m. at Community Park. The Lions will look to get back to .500 and open with a conference win for the second straight year.