McKeesport, PA. - And then there were four! After a day full of action in the Penn State University Athletic Conference Quarterfinals round on Wednesday, the stage is set for the PSUAC Quarterfinal round as we determine who will play in the 2018 PSUAC Men's Soccer Championship. #1 PSU-Brandywine will host #4 Penn State Greater Allegheny and #2 PSU-Beaver will take on #3 PSU-Lehigh Valley.
PSUGA advanced with a 4-1 win on Wednesday over #5 PSU-York. They got the offense going early as senior leader Belmo Nurkic (Pittsburgh, PA./Baldwin HS) scored two first half goals. The first came on a pass from Raghu Chimoriya (Pittsburgh, PA./Ellis Academy) and the second came on a free kick from 40 yards out that sailed over the keepers head.
They would add two more goals in the second half from Chris Rossi (Elizabeth, NJ/Frank A. Cicarfel Academy) and Prajal Sharma (Pittsburgh, PA./Baldwin HS) to seal the deal on the 4-1 win.
The win was PSUGA’s first home playoff win in program history and puts them in the semifinal round dor the second straight season. They are trying for their first ever PSUAC Championship and first appearance in the championship since the 2015-2016 season.
On the other side of the bracket, #3 PSU-New Kensington knocked off #6 PSU-Lehigh Valley with a 3-1 win. New Kensington took the lead in the 16th minute when Brady Braun scored to make it 1-0. They would go into halftime leading by that same score.
In the second half, Lehigh Valley would tie the game at 1 before two more goals by New Kensington put the game out of reach.
The top four seeds remain in the PSUAC playoffs and that has been a pattern throughout the playoffs. Since 2013, the PSUAC Champion has been eithet the #1 or #2 seed with the #1 seed winning four out of the five times.
The PSUAC Semifinal round kicks off on Saturday October 27th. #2 PSU-Beaver hosts #3 PSU-New Kensington and #1 PSU-Brandywine hosts #4 PSUGA. Kickoff for PSUGA’s semifinal matchup is scheduled to kickoff at 1 p.m.