Men’s Soccer Downs Hilbert, 5-0
by McKenzie Quirin
ALTOONA, Pa. – Penn State Altoona men's soccer was dominant on Saturday afternoon, as they cruised past Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponent Hilbert College at Spring Run Stadium, winning 5-0 to get their first victory of October.
Luke Hall (State College, PA/State College), Bailey Musselman (Altoona, PA/Altoona), Jeff Stritzl (Perkasie, PA/Pennridge), Ethan Firth (York, PA/Central York) and Luca Galieti (Broomall, PA/Cardinal O'Hara) scored goals for Penn State Altoona (4-3-1, 3-2 AMCC). Both Hall and Stritzl also recorded a pair of assists, while Vincent Reyes (Valhalla, NY/Valhalla) recorded one assist.
Sasha Mohoruk (State College, PA/State College) started at goalkeeper for the Lions and made nine saves – including stopping one penalty kick – while earning his third shutout of his Lions career.
For Hilbert (2-8, 1-3 AMCC) Logan Peck, goalkeeper, made four saves on nine shots on goal.
Penn State Altoona came out strong, scoring early as Stritzl passed the ball to Hall, who received it and found the back of the net by a headshot at the 6:30 mark, making it his third goal of the season. The Lions and Hawks continued the back-and-forth affair of shots.
Musselman extended the Lions lead to 2-0 at 28:37, after finding the back of the net from a corner kick by Stritzl. Hilbert saw more chances late in the first half but was not able to convert on any of them.
Penn State Altoona's offense continued to push the Hawks as they took a 3-0 lead early in the second half, when Stritzl received the ball from Hall and kicked it into the middle of the net at 51:53 for his first goal as a member of the Lions.
The Lions kept the goals coming, as they added to their lead on a goal by Firth, as he found the back of the net three minutes later. Late in the second half, Penn State Altoona scored their fifth goal of the game when Galieti scored his first collegiate goal at 84:04.
Firth, Hall, and Stritzl each finished with two shots on goal apiece, and Ethan McDowell (Johnstown, PA/Johnstown Christian School), Alieu Baba Jarjusey (Cotonou, Benin/English International School), Daniel Persiko (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) and Henry Couchara (Plymouth Meeting, PA/Plymouth Whitemarsh) also contributed to the Lions' shots throughout the game.
The Penn State Altoona men's soccer team goes on the road against AMCC opponent Penn St.-Behrend on Saturday, October 14 at 4:15 p.m.
