Fox and Mercier vs LBC
Tyler Schueck
4
Winner Lancaster Bible LBCM (10-9-2)
1
Penn State Berks PSBM (9-9-1)
Winner
Lancaster Bible LBCM
(10-9-2)
4
Final
1
Penn State Berks PSBM
(9-9-1)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Lancaster Bible LBCM 4 0 4
Penn State Berks PSBM 1 0 1

Game Recap: Men's Soccer |

Men's soccer falls to LBC in NEAC Quarterfinal

READING, PA - The Penn State Berks men's soccer team saw its magnificent 2017 season draw to a close after a 4-1 setback to Lancaster Bible College in the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Quarterfinal round contest on Tuesday afternoon.

The Nittany Lions, who earned home field advantage and the No. 2 seed, fell behind early and could not get its offense clicking on the windy, cool afternoon.

The Chargers struck with a goal by Caleb Nelson at the 5:28 mark of the opening period with the help of a nice through ball by Rama Mugisha to assist on the score. Just over a minute later, Joel Hughes had a shot saved, but the rebound was booted into the net by Dan Bewersdorff to give LBC a 2-0 advantage in just the 7th minute of the game.

In the 15th minute, Wes Fox had a shot slam off the crossbar and the rebound came right back into the box. Jakob Fischer came in and slipped the ball into the far corner to cut the deficit to 2-1.

The excitement was short lived as Edward Bills found the back of the net at the 16:38 mark to put LBC up 3-1. The final blow of the match came when Bills put a chip shot over the keeper at 43:15 to give the Chargers a 4-1 advantage going into the break.

In the second half, Trent Johnson made five saves to keep LBC off the scoreboard. Unfortunately for Berks, Thiago Naque recorded two saves in the second half and finished the contest with seven stops to earn the win.

Jon Mercier and Fox both had scoring chances in the second half stopped by Naque. Brenden Valverde made a nice run down the far sideline, but had his opportunity blocked by the LBC defense. For the game, the teams were even 14-14 in total shots, with LBC holding a 10-8 advantage in shots on goal. The Chargers also had the edge on corners kicks by a 6-4 margin.

The Nittany Lions finished the season with an overall record of 9-9-1 and had a 7-2-1 mark in NEAC play. This was the third straight season that the men's soccer program had nine wins, which is the most ever in a season. The 2017 team had the most potent offense in program history, setting the school record for points (136) goals (50), and assists (36). The defense set the school record for goals against average (1.80) and ranked second all-time in save percentage (.748) and shutouts (4).

Valverde shattered the school record for goals (22) and points (50), which lead the NEAC and rank in the top-5 in the nation. Mercier led the conference and was third in the country with 14 assists, which were a single-season school record. Mercier finishes his career as the all-time leader in assists (28), while ranking fourth in points (48) and ninth in goals scored (10).

The Nittany Lions will sorely miss seniors Fox and Mercier as they played their farewell contest for the Nittany Lions. With a roster filled with talent and the recruiting efforts by Adrian Munteanu and Tom Gosselin, the team will have plenty to look forward to in 2018 and beyond.
 
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