Lions fall 7-2 at Williamson

Media, Pa. - The Nittany Lions dropped their third straight game on Wednesday night with a 7-2 loss at Williamson College of the Trades. 

The Mechanics held a firm advantage in the match with 30 shots on Wednesday compared to just eight attempts for the Lions however Hazleton kept this one close for much of the night. After a slow start for both teams, the action picked up in the final 15 minutes of the first half when Williamson broke the scoreless affair with back to back goals in less than a minute's time. Hazleton bounced right back to cut the deficit to one goal with a tally by senior Isaac Whitenight (Benton, Pa.). Whitenight redirected a free kick by freshman Giovani Barrientos Garcia, heading the ball past the keeper to trail 2-1 with 13 minutes to go in the half. It appeared that Hazleton would take that score into the midway point, but as time wound down in the period, a costly foul in the 18 turned into a penalty kick opportunity for the Mechanics and Tom Vieyra converted the easy score for a 3-1 lead in favor of Williamson at halftime. 

As the second half began, Williamson tacked on their fourth goal of the night but a quick response from the Nittany Lions kept them within striking distance. Junior Aaron Wrobleski (Mountain Top, Pa.) fired a bullet from the top right corner of the 18 across the keeper and into the left side netting of the goal to get Hazleton back within two scores of the Mechanics. The goal was Wrobleski's fourth on the season but that would be as close as Hazleton would get to knotting the score against Williamson in the second half. The Mechanics proceeded to tack on three unanswered goals down the stretch, putting the game out of reach. 

Next up: Hazleton is on the road this weekend when they travel to Penn State Beaver to resume Penn State University Athletic Conference play. Kick off slated for 2:00 p.m. at Veteran's Park on Field 2.