McKeesport, PA. – After dropping their season opener to Point Park, the Penn State Greater Allegheny Soccer Team (0-1, 0-0) is looking for a bounce-back effort when they take on Johnson & Wales (2-0, 0-0) on Friday at 4 p.m. Despite not getting off to the start they wanted, there were still many positives that PSUGA can take away from their season-opening loss.
After giving up four goals in the first 17 minutes of play, PSUGA’s defense hunkered down and held the Pioneers off the board for the remainder of the first half. Junior Colin Bucsok (Pittsburgh, PA./Thomas Jefferson HS) got the start in net and made five saves on nine shots on goal in his 45:00 minutes played. For Bucsok, it was a good warm-up as he faced one of the toughest offenses, he will have to face all season long.
Sophomore Hunter Huber (West Mifflin, PA./West Mifflin HS) took over in net as the teams started the second half and played well in his collegiate debut. He made five saves on eight shots on goal for a .625 save percentage. His biggest save of the day came on a Point Park penalty kick when he dove to his right to make the save.
Senior Dario Marina (Pittsburgh, PA./Baldwin HS) served as the vocal leader for the PSUGA defense helping his fellow teammates get into position all afternoon. When PSUGA found their few offensive chances, they got good runs by Ronnie Caldro (Pittsburgh, PA.) and Namy Makiese (Pittsburgh, PA./Allderdice HS) who got the chance to show off their speed.
PSUGA now turns their attention to their next non-conference match when they go against Johnson & Wales Friday. J&W enters the game on a hot streak to start the season sitting at 2-0 through their first two games. They are coming off of a 1-0 win over Middle Georgie State where they got the lead early and never conceded a goal after that.
It was Zack Savage who found the net for the Wildcats in the 12th minute off the goalkeeper to give the Cougars the lead. J&W Goalkeeper Michael Vazquez made one save on his lone shot on goal in net as his defense did a great job of keeping the ball out of the offensive zone.
Previous Match-ups
Thursday will mark the first-ever matchup between PSUGA and Johnson & Wales in program history. Both schools compete in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association and will be looking to gain momentum towards the start of conference play.
Kick-off for Thursday’s game is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Breisinger Field located at 410 East Bruceton Rd., Pittsburgh, PA.
