Men's Soccer Team in Conference Semifinals
Published 10.25.2004
The Pennsylvania College of Technology men's soccer team will host Penn State Hazleton at 6 p.m. Wednesday in an Eastern Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference/Pennsylvania Collegiate Athletic Association semifinal match.
Penn College takes a 17-2 overall record into the contest after beating Harrisburg, 5-2, on Saturday to advance, and coach Andy Richardson had high praise for backup goalkeeper Adam Cleland (East Penn), who is filling in for injured Ryan Swartz (Muhlenberg).
"Adam did a fine job in the goal. He performed well," Richardson said.
The coach also found satisfaction in the fact that his players are continuing to spread the scoring around.
"We still have a range of players scoring, which is good. Instead of having one 'hotshot' in there, we've got a lot of guys who are stepping up in scoring and assists and that will be important as we finish the season out. When you rely on just one player it's easy for teams to mark them. In our case, they never know who is going to step up," Richardson continued.
Penn College has scored five goals per match in its last three outings and held its opponents to only two. For the season, the Wildcats have scored 76 goals and allowed just 22.
"Our guys are really starting to peak now. Our passing and control possession game is starting to click. When they settle right into it and don't start aimlessly kicking the ball and we get our passing game working, we produce amazing results.
Earlier in the season, Penn College split with Penn State Hazleton, losing 3-1 and winning 5-0. Hazleton advanced to the conference semifinal with a 2-1 win over Northampton County Area Community College.
"They're going to be a challenge for us," said Richardson. "We'll just take it one match at a time and give it our best shot and see where the cards fall."