Hazleton men's soccer drops both ends of weekend double-header

Hazleton, Pa. - It was a tough weekend for the Nittany Lions men's soccer team who lost two games on their home turf over the past two days. Hazleton faced off with two teams from the west, Penn State Beaver and Penn State Greater Allegheny and in both cases fell to their opponents 0-4 as Hazleton remains winless on the season at 0-5 overall and 0-3 in PSUAC play.

Saturday, September 21: Penn State Beaver 4, Penn State Hazleton 0

Beaver controlled the pace of play for much of the game, issuing 55 shots against the Hazleton defense in the 90 minute contest. Hazleton put up a stout defense in the first half. First year goalkeeper Mac Kline made 10 saves in the first half but in the 37th minute of play, Beaver finally broke through for their first score of the game. Hazleton kept within reach of the visitors through 60 minutes of action but with few offenses chances it was an uphill battle. Beaver broke the game open in the final 30 minutes of action with flurry of three goals in a seven minute period of play, pulling away from Hazleton for good. Kline ended the game between the posts with a solid effort, making 21 saves on 25 shots on goal. 

Sunday, September 22: Penn State Greater Allegheny 4, Penn State Hazleton 0

Similar to Saturday's game, Hazleton struggled to produce attempts on the offensive side of the field. Greater Allegheny reeled off 31 first half shots against the Hazleton squad but the Lions put up a great effort defensively to start off the game, until the visiting team notched a pair of goals midway through the half. Gino Penascino scored the opening goal in the 29th minute and just four minutes later, Mason Haffa tacked put Greater Allegheny on top 2-0 heading into the midway point of the action. Hazleton's Collin Bogdan earned two shots on goal in traffic during the second half of play but both attempts were stymied by the Allegheny keeper. Greater Allegheny picked up two additional scores early in the second half to put the contest out of reach but the Lions' defense kept the visitors off the board for the final 40 minutes of play thanks in part to 20 saves on the day from Mac Kline. 

Next up for Hazleton is another weekend contest when Hazleton will host Penn State Mont Alto on Saturday, September 28 at 2:00 p.m. on the Student Athletic and Recreation Field.