McKeesport, Pa. – The Penn State Greater Allegheny Soccer Team (6-1, 5-0) have clinched a spot in the Penn State University Athletic Conference Playoffs picking up a big 3-2 win over Penn State Hazleton (5-5, 3-1) on Saturday.
This game was all tied up until the 80th minute when senior Jake Theiret (Port Vue, Pa./South Allegheny) stepped up to attempt a penalty kick. He blazed it past Penn State Hazleton goalie Brandon Yocum to give PSUGA the one point advantage with a little under ten minutes remaining on the game clock. The PSUGA defense was able to step up and hold off Hazleton to collect their sixth win in a row.
However, it was Penn State Hazleton that was getting a lot of the offensive chances early on. They took advantage right away as Moussa Diouf made it 1-0 Hazleton in just the second minute of the ball game. Just five minutes later, the game would be back to even as Marin Marina (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin HS) scored his team leading ninth goal of the season to make it 1-1. Hazleton would score another goal right before halftime in the 42nd minute to take a 2-1 lead which they would then take into halftime.
Hazleton out shot PSUGA in the first half 13-3 and the ball spent a lot more time in Hazleton’s offensive zone. However, head coach Dale Odim made some key adjustments at halftime that set his team up for more offensive success in the second half.
Those adjustments would pay off as Belmo Nurkic (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin HS) would tie the game at two in the 63rd minute scoring on his fifth goal of the season. The big kick by Theiret would seal the deal and give PSUGA its sixth straight win and moves them to 5-0 in conference play.
PSUGA has now clinched a PSUAC playoff spot for the fourth consecutive year and now are playing to try to capture one of the top two seeds. They also picked up their first ever win against Penn State Hazleton in the history of the program.
PSUGA will continue their historic season when they take on Westmoreland County Community College at home this Thursday at 4 p.m.
