McKeesport, PA. – After the Penn State Greater Allegheny Soccer Team (1-1, 0-0) put up a historic 15-1 win over Southern State CC last time out, they look to keep the offensive success going as they take on Penn State New Kensington (1-2, 0-0) on Wednesday at 4 p.m. It will be the opener of their Penn State University Athletic Conference play as they look to make a fifth straight PSUAC Playoff Tournament.
After struggling to find offense in their first game of the season, the offense showed up last time out putting up a program record 15 goals in their win over Southern State CC. It didn’t take long for PSUGA to take control of the game scoring their first goal in the first two minutes of the contest. They would go on to score their first four goals in the first 10 minute of the game and went into halftime leading 11-1. The offense would cruise in the second half finishing the day with four more goals on their way to the victory.
Nic Babic (Pittsburgh, PA.) led the offensive charge scoring four goals on the day while picking up one assist. After never having scored a goal in his PSUGA career, Babic took advantage of opportunities and found his way to the net thanks to good passing by his teammates. Fellow senior Belmo Nurkic (Pittsburgh, PA./Baldwin HS) was one of those players that opened up opportunities finishing with a team leading three assists while recording a hat trick of his own.
All-in-all nine different players for PSUGA scored a goal in this game including freshman Namy Makiese (Pittsburgh, PA./Allderdice HS), Christopher Rossi (Elizabeth, NJ./Frank J. Cicarfel Academy), Steeve Djomo (Pittsburgh, PA.), and Raghu Chimoriya (Pittsburgh, PA./Baldwin HS) all picking up their first career goals. Dario Marina (Pittsburgh, PA./Baldwin HS), Prajal Sharma (Pittsburgh, PA./Baldwin HS), and Jagesh Subba (Pittsburgh, PA./Baldwin HS) would round out the scoring on the day all finishing with one goal.
As a result of the high-powered offense, Goalkeeper Colin Bucsok (Pittsburgh, PA./Thomas Jefferson HS) wasn’t tested much on the day. He made two saves on three shots on goal while allowing just a penalty kick to sneak through. With the win, Bucsok is now just three wins away from becoming the winningest goalie in PSUGA history in just his sophomore season.
After facing two tough non-conference opponents, PSUGA now turns towards PSUAC Play and the chance to make it back to the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season. Last year, they were able to get in as the number two seed, but their playoff run was short lived as they were knocked out in the PSUAC Semifinal round by PSU-Hazleton losing 4-1. They have their eyes on redemption this season as they look for the programs first PSUAC Championship.
PSU-New Kensington is also coming into Wednesday’s game after some much-needed offensive success. They put up 14 goals in their first win of the season defeating Westmoreland County CC 14-0. Three different New Kensington players finished with hat tricks as they were able to pick up their first win of 2018.
The all-time series has been even between PSUGA and PSU-New Kensington with each team having won three games. Last season, it was PSUGA who would get the upper hand with a 2-0 victory as part of their six-game winning streak to start conference play. Former Lions Marin Marina and Jake Theiret supplied the goals in the win.
Kick-off for Wednesday’s PSUAC opener is scheduled for 4 p.m. on the campus of Penn State New Kensington.