ERIE, Pa. – The Baldwin Wallace University men's soccer team lost the 2019 Herb Lauffer Memorial Tournament Championship Game against host team Penn State Behrend College by a final score of 3-2.
BW (1-1) falls to 4-7-1 in all-time matchups versus Penn State Behrend (2-0).
The first 25 minutes of action featured no shortage of favorable scoring opportunities for the BW. In the third minute of the match, junior midfielder Bryce Posner (Aurora) wound up from approximately ten feet behind the crease and rang a hard shot off the crossbar. Freshman forward Jared Webb (Southfield, Mich./Brother Rice) displayed his own interpretation of hitting iron 20 minutes later, when his shot from the same vicinity bounced off the right goal post. Lions junior Michael DiCola managed to tally an opportunistic first goal of the game in the 28th minute to put PSB up 1-0. The Yellow Jackets had one more prime scoring opportunity to tie the game before the first half's end, but freshman midfielder Andras Fabian (Hinckley/Highland) zipped a close shot that veered just right of the net.
BW applied some immediate pressure in the opening minutes of the second half, as the ball lingered in offensive territory for the majority of the time. However, the Lions came roaring back with a barrage of scoring opportunities roughly fifteen minutes into the second half. First, PSB seemed to have scored on a ricocheted corner kick rebound goal in the 62nd minute, but it was ultimately overturned because of an offside call. A hard Lions shot, just one minute later from the top-right side of the crease, hit off the goal post. PSB freshman Jordan Floyd then put the Lions up 2-0 approximately one minute later off a header. Junior Richard Blanchard assisted on the goal. The Yellow Jackets continued the back-and-forth sequence with a goal of their own by senior midfielder Rafael Davalos (Kettering/Alter) on a penalty kick in the 67th minute. In the 73rd minute, PSB's Floyd netted his second goal of the contest, streaking down the left wing to put the Lions up 3-1. Sophomore Michael Romesberg and junior Nick Shideler assisted on the goal. At the 78-minute mark, Davalos scored his second goal of the game for BW on yet another penalty kick, cutting the lead down to 3-2. The Lions had a penalty kick opportunity of their own in the 81st minute but the shot sailed above the net and out of play. The Yellow Jackets' Webb was called for his second yellow card of the game in the 82nd minute, resulting in his dismissal of the match and BW playing a man short for the remaining eight minutes of regulation. The Lions managed to hold on to their tight lead in the closing moments and claim the tournament championship.
Senior goalkeeper Patrick Mehal suffered his first loss of the season, allowing three goals on three shots faced.
The Yellow Jackets' next game will take place on Thursday, September 5 at 7:30 p.m., when they travel to Meadville, Pennsylvania to take on non-conference opponent Allegheny College.
