Men’s Soccer set for playoff clash with Gannon

Setting the Stage

The No. 21 Lock Haven University men’s soccer team gets set for a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) semifinal-matchup with the Golden Knights of Gannon University.

Friday’s match, along with the remaining games of the tournament, will be hosted by Western Division No. 1 seed Mercyhurst and is set for a 4:30 p.m. kickoff time.

The Haven closed the regular season with flair and ride a seven-game winning streak into Friday’s semifinal. For LHU, it marks the longest win streak in 20 years, dating back to the 2001 season.

LHU, the PSAC Eastern Division regular season champion, enters the postseason with a 13-2-2 overall record and a 10-1-1 mark in PSAC play. Lock Haven claimed the regular season PSAC Eastern Division championship, and the 13 wins for the Bald Eagles mark the most since the 2007 season. It also marks the Bald Eagles return to the PSAC playoffs for the first time since November 3, 2015, where the Bald Eagles fell to Bloomsburg in an overtime-thriller.

On Tuesday, the Bald Eagles made the jump to the No. 21 spot in the United Soccer Coaches national poll. For LHU, the return to the rankings was their first since the 2007 season.

The Opponent:

Gannon enters Friday’s matchup at 15-2-2 overall with a 7-1-2 PSAC record. The Golden Knights and Bald Eagles met back on September 8 and Gannon came away with a 4-1 behind two goals from Sergio Del Castillo.

In Tuesday’s quarterfinal bout with Seton Hill, Gannon came from behind to win 2-1 on a goal from Layton Bingham in the 78th minute after falling 1-0 down in the opening 10 minutes.

Castillo and Tinashe Katsande pace the Golden Knights offensively with 11 and 10 goals, respectively. The dynamic pair ranks third and fourth in the conference in goals.

Gannon goalkeeper Maximilliano Rocco leads all PSAC players with a tremendous .852 save percentage and is second in the conference, having allowed just 12 goals all season long. Bautista Corti heads a strong backline which protects Rocco and allows just 10.6 shots on goal per game.

Team Notes:

The Bald Eagles enter the 2021 PSAC Championship with a decorated history in the tournament. LHU is tied with East Stroudsburg for the most titles in PSAC history with 20 conference championships. The next closest PSAC school is Slippery Rock with eight. The Bald Eagles last conference title came in 2004 when The Haven beat West Chester 2-0.

Samuel Hershey (Lancaster, Pa./McCaskey) leads the Bald Eagles and is second in the PSAC in goals with 13. Andrea DiSomma (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Twp.) and Beckham Sibiski (Kutztown, Pa./Kutztown H.S.) both sit tied for seventh in the PSAC with seven apiece. LHU’s high-flying offense ranks second in the conference with 43 total goals this season.

Sibiski leads all PSAC players and ranks third in all of Division II with 12 assists and Hershey trails him with eight, which is good enough to tie him for fourth place in the conference. As a team the Bald Eagles rank second in the PSAC with 38 assists.

LHU’s goalkeeper Aitor Ruiz de Eguilaz (Euskadi, Spain/Koldo Mitxelena (Robert Morris)) ranks among the leaders in the conference in save percentage (4th) and total save (5th). The junior has also been named the PSAC Defensive Athlete of the Week an impressive three times this season.

Chase Tackett (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) and Dean Lewis (Belfast, Northern Ireland/Model Boys School) command a backline which ranks fifth in the conference with 21 goals allowed. The stingy LHU defense allows just 9.9 shots per game, and only 4.9 on goal.