LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Lock Haven University men's soccer team (10-2-2, 8-1-1 PSAC East) cruised to a dominant, 4-0, win over Shepherd University (2-14, 1-9 PSAC East) in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division action on Wednesday evening.
The Bald Eagles got off to a flying start in the first half and pushed two goals past the Shepherd goalkeeper.
Zane Puhala (Brockway, Pa./Brockway) found the net in the 21
st minute off a through ball from
Samuel Hershey (Lancaster, Pa./McCaskey). Hershey added another assist on LHU's second goal when he sent a low cross across the box, which found the foot of
Beckham Sibiski (Kutztown, Pa./Kutztown H.S.). The strike marked Sibiski's fifth goal on the season and Hershey's sixth assist.
After his two helpers in the first half, Hershey got in on the scoring himself, finishing off a rebound off a ranged effort in the 48
th minute to stretch the LHU lead to 3-0.
Dean Lewis (Belfast, Northern Ireland/Model Boys School), who gathered an assist on Hershey's goal, rounded out the Bald Eagles scoring with a beautiful-curled effort from the corner of the box.
Ryan Foskey (Gilbertsville, Pa./Boyertown) picked up an assist on the goal after laying the ball off to Lewis for The Haven's fourth goal.
Goalkeepers
Aitor Ruiz de Eguilaz (Euskadi, Spain/Koldo Mitxelena (Robert Morris)) and
Brady Freiwald (Altoona, Pa./Altoona) combined for the clean sheet as a team, and each made one save as the Bald Eagle defense was stifling.
The back four of
Chase Tackett (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty),
David Dries (Wyomissing, Pa./Wilson),
Connor Burke (Schnecksville, Pa./Parkland) and Lewis combined to limit the Rams to just two shots on goal all night long.
Justin Douglas (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) also tracked back well defensively from midfield to help preserve the clean sheet.
NCAA Regional Rankings - -
The first official edition of the NCAA regional rankings were released earlier today and the Bald Eagles were ranked sixth. To view the full rankings
click here:
The NCAA regional rankings are used to determine the field for the NCAA tournament. A total of 10 teams from Super Region 1 will be selected to the 2021 NCAA Division II tournament field. In all, the NCAA championship field will be made up of 40-teams, 10 from each of the four super regions.
PSAC Standings - -
Entering today's home match with Shepherd, Lock Haven had already clinched a PSAC postseason berth, thanks to Saturday's (Oct. 23) win over Bloomsburg. Coming into today's action, Lock Haven and West Chester – both PSAC Eastern Division sides – were the only two teams to have clinched PSAC postseason berths. LHU's last PSAC tournament appearance was in 2015.
Full and updated PSAC Men's Soccer Standings can be found
here:
United Soccer Coaches Rankings - -
When the United Soccer Coaches released the updated Division II national rankings on Tuesday (Oct. 26), Lock Haven was receiving votes. LHU was also ranked No. 4 in the United Soccer Coaches DII Atlantic Region poll, up one spot from No. 5 last week.
Up next:
The Bald Eagles now have their eyes set on another important conference and regional match. On Saturday, October 30, Lock Haven will travel to East Stroudsburg for a 7 p.m. PSAC East match. The two teams played to a hard-fought 3-3 (2OT) draw back on October 2.
