Box Score Fort Washington, Pa. – The Nittany Lions men's soccer team took on and defeated another non-conference foe early Sunday afternoon to make it two victories in three days. Today, it was Hampden-Sydney whom the Blue and White took to task, using two first-half goals and hanging on in the end for a 2-1 victory. Junior Gustavo Alegria and senior Nick Marques provided the offensive output for Penn State Abington.
 
What had started out as a stormy and overcast Sunday morning actually turned into a bright, sunny late summer afternoon, and by the time the teams hit the pitch, it was sweltering and humid. The two sides spent the first ten minutes of the game feeling each other out, but as the half continued, Penn State Abington took over. Twenty-five minutes into the game, the Nittany Lions got on the board off some fine work by Alegria. Senior Marco Paparo played a pass from the midfield down the right side, where Alegria had made an overlapping run from his right back position. The stocky junior took the ball deep into the penalty box on the right side, where he ripped a ball in the direction of the goal. A Tigers defender came rushing back and slid in an attempt to clear the ball, but only managed to deflect it into his own net, putting Penn State Abington up 1-0 and giving Alegria his first career Nittany Lions goal.
 
Just ten minutes later, the home team tacked on another goal, this time off of a set piece. After a Hampden-Sydney foul gave Penn State Abington a free kick in the attacking third. Senior Phil Curry stepped up and curled a great ball into the penalty area from the left sideline. An Abington player tried to take a shot, but the ball was blocked and came once again to Paparo. The tall senior made a first time flick of the ball across the mouth of the goal, where Nick Marques was waiting just yards in front of the net. The experienced senior made short work of the easy opportunity, blasting the ball into the netting and putting Penn State Abington up 2-0.
 
After the dominating start to the first half by the Nittany Lions, the game then began to get a bit chippy. Over the rest of the game, four cards were given out, starting with a straight red card to a Tigers player for a reckless foul. In the second half, the rough play continued, and Hampden-Sydney also managed to tack on a goal of their own on a pass that made it behind the Nittany Lions defense. However, the Penn State Abington squad buckled down, and when the final whistle blew, the Blue and White came away with their second straight victory to open the season. The men will get their next chance to continue their winning streak when they take on Penn State Brandywine on Wednesday night. Gametime is set for 7:00 pm at Father Judge stadium. Be sure to keep following the Nittany Lions fall sports this entire season on abingtonsports.com.