Lehigh Valley rallies late to top Hazleton 5-0

Hazleton, Pa. - The Nittany Lions suffered their fourth loss of the season on Tuesday when Hazleton hosted Penn State Lehigh Valley for an evening PSUAC matchup. Hazleton held Lehigh Valley scoreless for over fifty minutes in this one until a flurry of second half scores allowed the visitors to pull away and win by a comfortable 5-0 margin. 

Despite the final score, Hazleton offered up some brilliant defense on Tuesday night. Lehigh Valley controlled the ball for much of the first half although Hazleton was able to pack the box defensively, successfully mitigating any close range opportunities for Lehigh Valley and forcing a number of long range attacks that flew off target. Lehigh Valley offered up 22 first half shooting attempts but just six were on target and Hazleton keeper Bryce Dalpiaz (Liverpool, Pa.) made several outstanding stops to keep a clean sheet and force a stalemate by the midway point. 

That would change in the final period as Lehigh Valley came out firing from the opening kickoff of the second half. The visitors earned a corner kick and reeled off six quick shots in the first five minutes of play. That attack paid off just moments later when Jack Montesdeoca tucked in the games first goal in the 52 minute on a pass from Jerod Younes. Hazleton was able to stay within one score for the next 17 minutes but Lehigh Valley blew the game open late in the action. A goal by Ahmed Mosaad in the 69th minute extended the lead to 2-0 and moments later, Lehigh Valley would benefit from a pair of Hazleton fouls in their own 18, leading to a pair of penalty kick goals for Lehigh Valley. The visitors capped their explosive second half with a goal by Zainab Mahamed with just three minutes remaining to seal up the win. 

Next up: Hazleton gets 8 days off before resuming PSUAC play next Wednesday, October 13 when the Lions host Penn State Brandywine for another 7:00 p.m. kickoff.