READING — The Penn State Berks men's soccer team (2-8-2) looked to compete in nom-conference action as the Nittany Lions hosted Easter University (5-1-3) in Saturday afternoon action during Homecoming and Family Weekend up at Reading, Pa. Berks fell early in the first half and were unable to get close to the Eagles as the Nittany Lions fell 4-0.
The Nittany Lions spent much of the first half defending sustained Eastern pressure and went into halftime trailing 4-0.
Josh Martin made early saves on Matthew DeDios and Cullen Visscher, and
Terridine Grant put Berks' first shot on goal at 4:41 before Osmond Chan scored at 11:29 and again at 14:56. Martin continued to keep the Blue & White involved with multiple saves during Eastern's push after the second goal, while
Rylan Smith sent a shot high in the 19th minute. Ethan Pfau added Eastern goals at 29:40 and 32:27, and
Sean Leeser forced a save from Michael Arcuri at 34:09 before Martin added another late stop in the 45th minute.
Berks kept Eastern off the scoreboard in the second half, with
Josh Martin making 13 saves as the teams played a scoreless final 45 minutes. Earlier, the Nittany Lions got a shot from
Emir Hamzic in the 47th minute and a saved attempt from
Callan Stuck in the 59th, while Martin stopped Eastern shots in the 54th and 61st minutes. The heaviest pressure came from 63:42 to 74:22, when Eastern had four corner kicks and eight shots saved by Martin, but Berks came through that sequence with Eastern's 4-0 lead unchanged. The Nittany Lions earned a corner at 75:48 and
Peter Austin put a shot high shortly afterward, then Martin added three saves in the final 10 minutes before the match ended with Eastern winning 4-0.
Josh Martin recorded 23 saves in 90 minutes, including 13 in the second half.
WHO'S NEXT
Up next, Berks travels to Abington, Pennsylvania, to face Penn State Abington on Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 3:30 p.m. in United East action.
FOLLOW US
Fans can keep up with Berks Athletics all season long on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube using the handle @BerksAthletics.
