Box Score Abington, Pa. - The Penn State Abington men's soccer team fell in heartbreaking fashion to Morrisville State College by the score of 2-1. The Nittany Lions took a 1-0 lead deep into the game before allowing the next two goals, including a game-winning penalty kick in the first overtime period.
 
From the beginning, today's match was slated to be an extremely competitive one. Penn State Abington ran through most of the NEAC conference during the regular season, dropping just one conference match in ten games played. However, that lone loss came against Morrisville State College, the opponent the Nittany Lions faced today. Both teams made it to today's championship match after very close wins in yesterday's semifinal matches.
 
Right off the opening whistle, fans got a glimpse of the back-and-forth action that awaited them for the duration of the game. Both sides spent the first ten minutes feeling each other out, with several corner kicks and numerous fouls in the midfield, but no serious opportunities. However, in the 12^th minute, it was Abington who got the first great chance to get on the scoreboard.
 
After taking the ball through the midfield, an Abington player sent a through-ball into the penalty box. Morrisville State defender Dan Peckham sprinted back and tried to slide in front of the ball, putting has body between any oncoming attack and the goal. However, an Abington player reached the ball at almost the same time and tried to dribble around the now prone Peckham. Whether inadvertently or not, Peckham hit the ball with his hands, and the referee immediately whistled for a penalty kick. Junior midfielder Andre Lynahping stepped to the spot to take the penalty kick, but sent a blasted shot just over the top of the crossbar, and the teams stayed level at 0-0.
 
From this point, each side continued to probe the other's defenses with many more shots,  but each time the goalkeepers were up to the challenge. Finally however, it was Penn State Abington who broke through just before halftime. Sophomore forward Alex Martins was able to run onto a through-ball behind the defense once again and got in alone against Mustangs goalkeeper Rob Larkin. The freshman netminder came off his line to challenge Martins' attack, and Martins' first shot actually caught Larkin square in the center of his chest. However, the Mustangs keeper was unable to control the shot, and Martins, now virtually laying on the ground, was able to send the rebound trickling towards the goal. With a Morrisville State defender racing to try and clear the ball, it was senior Julian Ward who got to the ball first, finishing the play into the empty net and putting the Nittany Lions on top 1-0.
 
After halftime, each team played mostly straight-up against each other for the opening ten minutes of the second half. However, as the period wore on, Abington started to commit more and more players to the defensive side of the ball, happily allowing Morrisville State to possess the ball more in exchange for keeping them shutout of the attacking zone. This style worked to perfection for most of the half. The Mustangs were forced to commit more and more players forward in an effort to get a chance at tying the game, but each time the visitors came close, Abington retook possession and sent the ball down the field for some dangerous attacks of their own.
 
Finally, however,  with just under five minutes left to play in the game, Morrisville State finally broke through on one of the few scoring chances they had in the half. After Morrisville State took the ball down the left side of the field and sent in a cross, the Nittany Lions defense was able to clear the ball out towards the middle of the field. Unfortunately for them, the clearance went directly to sophomore Mustang Joey Plummer. Plummer chested the ball out of the air to dampen its first bounce off the turf, then lined up a volley attempt towards the goal. Once again, the Penn State Abington defense was ready for the shot with a defender getting his body in the way to block the effort. However, this blocked shot went high in the air over the rest of the defense and started dipping down towards the net. Freshman goalkeeper James Carlin raced back from the middle of the penalty box to try and stop the deflected shot, but could not reach the net in time as the ball curled underneath the goalpost and into the net.
 
With the score now tied at 1-1, each team pressed to get the winning goal before regular time ended. Although each side got off two more shots, none of them made it into the net, and the full 90 minutes ended with the score still tied. Each team, and their fans, used the five minute break before the first overtime period to catch their breaths and recover, and finally the whistle blew to start the extra frame.
 
From the first touch of the ball, Abington found themselves on the back foot. The Mustangs got a shot off just 18 seconds into the period, but it was blocked. This was only a momentary respite for Penn State Abington, however, as just 1 minute into the period Abington was called for a foul inside of their own penalty box. Sophomore Jacob Chase stepped up to the penalty spot this time for the Mustangs, and calmly finished into the high left side of the net, sending Morrisville State's bench erupting across the field in celebration of their championship victory.
 
For Penn State Abington, it was of course a heartbreaking defeat. However, winning the regular season and a second place finish in the difficult North Eastern Athletic Conference tournament is nothing to sneeze at, and the Nittany Lions still have a chance at participating in postseason play. The NCAA tournament field will be announced tomorrow, and the ECAC regional championship field will be announced soon after. Be sure to keep checking in at abingtonsports.com for any updates on the men's soccer playoff status.