Altoona, PA -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men's soccer team picked up an important AMCC win on Saturday at Penn State-Altoona. The Panthers rallied to score four times in the second half, defeating the Lions 4-1.
The Panthers got shocked at the start, as the hosts scored after just 37 seconds. The Lions controlled the ball after the opening kick and quickly moved into the offensive third. A misplayed header in transition sent the hosts on a 2-1 break that forced Christopher House into a breakaway save. Unfortunately, his stop was gathered by a Penn State-Altoona attacker who chipped a shot into the open goal to put the Lions up 1-0. The Panthers looked to answer and had a pair of shots stopped at the 10th minute. Zhennan Sun collected a pass and saw his left-footed effort parried away before Bailee Verdill collected the rebound and fired a shot that was caught. Chris House made a pair of saves to keep the deficit at one before the Panthers carved out a few chances in the final five minutes of the half. Zander Parsons had two shots that missed the target high, while Verdill tried to head in a cross, but his effort missed wide.
The hosts nearly doubled their lead within four minutes of the restart. After a misplayed longball sent the Lions on the break, a pulled back pass led to a slow shot that was out of House's reach, but hit the woodwork. The rebound went right to a Penn State-Altoona attacker, but his reaction shot skied over the net for a goal kick. Three minutes later, the Lions were through again, but House was quick off his line and beat the attacker to the ball, clearing it out of play. In the 53rd minute, the Panthers were finally able to break through and tie the game. Holden Kelly was able to steal the ball from the Lions at midfield and laid a pass off to Kyle Carlsen. The sophomore midfielder hit a long pass to Brady Hathaway, who collected it on the run, dribbled into the box, and cut a pass back to Bailee Verdill at the penalty spot. Verdill turned without touching the ball and fired a shot with his right foot around the defender and into the top corner for his 7th goal of the season. Pitt-Bradford went right on the attack after the equalizer and won a corner kick a minute later. Carlsen delivered a dangerous free kick inside the 6, where Daniel Hartman met the cross and headed a shot into the net to put Pitt-Bradford in front. The goal was the first of Hartman's collegiate career.
In the 64th minute, House made a save at his near post and quickly sent the Panthers on the counterattack, leading to the third Pitt-Bradford goal of the game. The Lions could not control his punt, and Verdill took advantage, sending an immediate through ball to Zander Parsons, who timed a run behind the defense. The pass was knocked away by the Penn State-Altoona keeper, but fell to Hathaway, who curled a shot into the far corner, giving the Panthers a 3-1 lead. The goal was the junior forward's 5th of the season. Bailee Verdill had a one-time effort stopped in the 75th, and then five minutes later, Kyle Carlsen nearly beat the keeper on a long free kick, but his curling effort was tipped over the bar. In the final minute, the Panthers finished off the win with their fourth goal of the game. Verdill took advantage of another misplayed header on the back line and moved into the final third. He cut back and slid a pass to Zhennan Sun, who was making a run down the middle. Sun got to the ball on the edge of the box and slid a shot past the onrushing keeper into the corner for the goal. It was his 2nd of the season.
Bailee Verdill finished the game with a goal on 5 shots, 4 of them on target. He also assisted two goals. Brady Hathaway scored a goal on two shots and also added an assist. Zhennan Sun took two shots on goal, scoring on one of them. Daniel Hartman was credited with the game-winning goal, while Kyle Carlsen picked up the assist on the goal. Christopher House made 8 saves in the game, winning his 6th contest of the season.
The win moves the Panthers to 5-7-1 on the year with a 1-3 mark in AMCC play. They will be back on the road for their midweek matchup, heading to Erie to play Penn State-Behrend. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m.
