Tyler Schueck

Box Score

Wells WELM (11-4-3)

Penn State Berks PSBM (9-10)

Wells WELM

(11-4-3)

Final

Nov. 01, 2016

Penn State Berks PSBM

(9-10)

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Wells WELM	0	2	2
Penn State Berks PSBM	0	0	0

Game Recap: Men's Soccer | 11/1/2016 3:41:00 PM

Record setting season draws to an end for men's soccer

READING, PA - The Penn State Berks men's soccer team saw its magical 2016 season draw to a close after suffering a 2-0 setback to Wells College in the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Quarterfinal round on Tuesday afternoon.

The Nittany Lions, who match the 2015 squad with the most win in program history, finish the year with a 9-10 overall record. This year's team had the best finish in the conference standings by placing fourth, which also earned the first ever home postseason contest. The 2016 team set the school record for goals scored (44), points (122), assists (34), goals against average (1.83), and shutouts (6).

The first half saw both teams spending the majority of the time in the midfield. Berks out shot the Express (11-4-3) by a 6-1 margin, but just 2-1 on goal in the opening period. Wells had a shot from inside the box slam off inside of the right post, then travel down the goal line and spin on off bounds in the 11th minute. Cole Mays and T.J. Yurkovic both put shots on goal in early in the half, but could beat the keeper. At the 38:00 mark of the half, Richie Martino put a shot on target, but Gerardo Sosa was there to make the save.

The Express came out strong in the second half with a shot 33 seconds into the period, but again Sosa was up to the challenge and made a diving stop. Manny Zavala fired a shot in the 49th minute that Owen May stopped to keep the match scoreless. In the 55th minute, Benjamen Schanbacher took a free kick from just outside the box the hit off the right post and bounced out into the box. Justin Bingham came flying in from the left side of the box and deflected the loose ball into the top left corner of the net to put Wells ahead 1-0. At 77:31, Schanbacher had a shot blocked and the Bingham again cleaned up by putting the loose ball into the back of the net to give Wells a comfortable 2-0 cushion.

Sosa made a diving save on a close range shot that slammed off his chest and away from trouble at 79:55 to keep the Nittany Lions hopes alive. The sophomore keeper, who played every second of every match for Berks, finished the contest with five saves. The Berks offense got off a few more shots and four corner kicks in the final 10 minutes, but could not break the Express defense.

Both teams finished with 14 shots and the Nittany Lions held a 10-6 advantage on corner kicks. Sosa turned in a strong performance in net and the defensive play of Isaiah Danner, Gordon Daichendt, Tom Ulrich, and Jakob Fischer all gave a solid effort against the Express. Cole Fagley, as he has done all season, played hard and relentless in the midfield. Jon Mercier provided the offense with strong scoring opportunity with his passing from the midfield, while he and Jairo Ordonez played some nice passes off of corner kicks. Bryan Franco, Kevin Mondi, Dan Zhmurkin, and Marvens Labissiere all came off the bench to add a spark to the Nittany Lions offense.

Senior defenders Isaiah Danner and Gordon Daichendt played in their final soccer match for the Nittany Lions. Over the course of their four year career's, the duo witnessed first hand the men's soccer program make the transition from a team at the bottom of the standings to one of the top teams in the conference. While saying goodbye to Danner and Daichendt will not be easy, the hard work and legacy those two have created will live on in next years team and beyond.

Head coach Adrian Munteanu and assistant Tom Gosselin instilled a strong work ethic and created a team that believed in itself. Moving forward the future looks brighter than ever before for the Penn State Berks men's soccer program with the key group of players set to return and the strong recruiting class coming in.

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