Box Score Abington, Pa. - Penn State Abington beat their in-state rival Penn State Harrisburg for the final time in NEAC play this afternoon by a score of 4-1. With Harrisburg leaving the NEAC for a different conference at the end of this year, Abington took advantage of some early goals and cruised to one last victory over their mid-state rivals.
 
Abington (10-2, 8-1 NEAC) got on the board very early in the game with a seventh minute goal from Alex Martins. Junior midfielder Andre Lynahping got the play started with a great through pass past the left side of the defense. Martins was able to run around the defender and onto the pass, getting in alone on the goalkeeper. Martins, now with seven goals on the year, finished strong, putting the ball past freshman goalkeeper Devin Gerhart and into the back of the net for an early 1-0 lead.
 
Abington continued to dominate possession and got the best chances throughout the first half, and were able to get on the board once again in the 24^th minute. Martins was once again involved in the scoring play, this time taking the ball down the left sideline and into the box himself. Cutting in towards the goal deep along the end line, Martins was able to get the ball past the goalkeeper and continued towards the net. The sophomore forward then sent the ball rolling back up towards the top center of the penalty box. Seemingly out of nowhere, senior midfielder Joshua Clinger ran to meet the ball and drilled a one-timer directly into the center of the net, giving Abington a 2-0 lead.
 
Martins got a second assist on another goal just four minutes later. This time, Martins showed off his incredible dribbling ability. Taking the ball into the left side of the penalty box, Martins deftly dribbled past not just one or two, but three different Harrisburg defenders, getting all the way to the end line on the left side. From here, Martins simply sent a low cross to the far side of the net, where senior Abington scoring leader Matt Howard finished from a yard out.
 
With the lead now at 3-0, Abington continued to pressure Harrisburg into making mistakes, and the Nittany Lions finally closed out their scoring with one more goal in the 34^th minute. This time, Harrisburg keeper Devin Gerhart took a free kick inside of his penalty box after an Abington offsides penalty. Unfortunately for Harrisburg, Gerhart's kick was immediately turned over to Clinger 20 yards out from goal. Faced with a great 1-v-1 opportunity, Clinger simply slotted the ball past Gerhart and inside the left post, making the score 4-0.
 
With the wide lead, Abington settled down in the second half and merely attempted to maintain possession and run out the clock. They were mostly successful, with Harrisburg only getting 4 shots on goal in the half. However, the visitors were finally able to break through for a goal with just 8 minutes left in the game.
 
After earning a corner kick, Harrisburg sent the ball curling towards the front post. Freshman goalkeeper James Carlin came out for Abington to try and collect the ball, but he couldn't get his hands on the cross due to several other players jumping up to head the ball. With Carlin out of the net and the ball bouncing near the penalty spot, senior forward Alex Belanger merely had to chip a side-footed shot over the defense and into the left side of the net, making the final score 4-1 in favor of Abington.
 
With the win, Abington maintains their stranglehold on first place in the NEAC standings. With just one conference matchup remaining for the Nittany Lions, all Abington has to do is get a positive result and they will clinch home-field advantage for the NEAC Championship tournament. Even more importantly, Abington's final home game this Wednesday against Gallaudet is Senior Night for the Nittany Lions. Be sure to come out to Father Judge Stadium at 7 p.m. on October 24^th to celebrate and honor the hard work and dedication of all of the senior Nittany Lions soccer players.