GA Men's Soccer Splits 1-1 in a PSUAC Weekend

McKeesport, Pa. - Through a set of Penn State University Athletic Conference match-ups this weekend, the Penn State Greater Allegheny men's soccer team dropped a nail-biter over Penn State Wilkes-Barre, 3-2, before they overcame Penn State Schuylkill by a 6-2 tally.

To start the weekend off, Greater Allegheny hosted Penn State Wilkes-Barre. Freshman midfielder Ricardo Dip (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Commonwealth) was first to get on the board as he received a ball from sophomore midfielder Nick Andrews (Penn Hills, Pa./Serra Catholic) as he hashed it into the back of the net, Greater Allegheny up 1-0 just 15 minutes into the game.

Wilkes-Barre managed to notch three goals within 15 minutes to give the visiting team a 3-1 advantage heading into halftime.

The second half began slow as GA managed to go 30 minutes without a goal before Dip posted another, cutting the deficit to a Wilkes-Barre lead of 3-2. Time was not on Greater Allegheny's side as the clock expired, finalizing Wilkes-Barre's victory.

The Greater Allegheny offense outside WB 17-11, ten of them being on target. Sophomore goalkeeper Alex Wood (Rockville, Md./St. John's College High) faced nine shots on goal, stopping six. 

The following day, GA hosted Penn State Schuylkill for a 1 p.m. kick-off. Greater Allegheny came out with a vengeance, as the offense managed to rip 22 shots before half.

Sophomore forward Marin Marina (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) received a ball off of a deflection, hammering it into the lower left of the goal to put Greater Allegheny on the board, 1-0. Just seven minutes later, Andrews served freshman midfielder Belmo Nurkic (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) a ball to place in the lower left of the net as well, 2-0 GA heading into half-time.

Eight minutes into the second half, Schuylkill cut the lead in half as they hit an upper 90 shot. Less then three minutes later, Dip and Marina made a beautiful run, as Dip dished the ball to Marina to elevate GA to a 3-1 lead. In the 70th minute, Dip lofted a cross to Nurkic as he notched it past the goalie, 4-1 Lions. Schuylkill slipped a goal over the line after a mix up in front of the net, 4-2. 

Less than 70 seconds later, Dip charged down the field to place a perfect shot over the goalies hands, 5-2 Greater Allegheny. Just a few minutes before regulation expired, Dip dribbled through a group of Schuylkill defenders to put up the final goal of the day, finishing Greater Allegheny with a 6-2 mark.

Wood posted 12 saves on the day as the GA offense took 42 shots through the 90 minutes, 18 of them being on target. Dip posted 13 shots through the game as sophomore midfielder Bimal Bhattarai (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) took seven while Burkic and Marina took six a piece.

Greater Allegheny (4-1, 2-1 PSUAC) takes a break from PSUAC play and travel to Westmoreland County Community College with the women's team fot a double-header. The men are set to kick-off after the women's game around 5:00 p.m.