Soccer falls at Lehigh Valley

The Penn State Fayette men's and women's Coed soccer team headed to Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC) leader Penn State Lehigh Valley Thursday and while it put up a valiant fight, Fayette lost, 5-1.

Despite the loss, head coach David Koebler is seeing growth.

"The team continues to improve week in and week out at a very fast pace," he said.  "A testament to that was James Plez's goal that put us ahead halfway through the first half.  James, who is also a standout sprinter on the PSU Fayette Track team, scored the first goal of his 28-day soccer career by out hustling Lehigh Valley's defense and clinically finishing.  What was more impressive was the celebration and excitement James's goal brought to the team.  You would have thought he scored a match winner in the champions league final. "

Fayette (1-4) took the 1-0 lead 18:27 into the match when Plez scored off of an assist from Pablo Gudiel (Washington, DC/Woodrow Wilson HS). 

The 1-0 lead held for over five minutes, but Lehigh Valley's Cadeyn Muthard tied the match when he scored off of an assist from John Cupitt 24:03 in.  a short time later with 25:58 gone in the match, Ahmed Mosaad scored what would be the game-winning goal as he gave the hosts a 2-1 lead off of an assist from Cadeyn Muthard.  John Culpitt gave the hosts a 3-1 lead at 38:18 off of an assist from Mosaad and Lehigh Valley (7-2-1) led 3-1 at the half.

Justin Evans and Onur Alici scored second half goals for Lehigh Valley.

Plez's goal was Fayette's only official shot on goal while Lehigh Valley put 16 shots on Jorge Palmas (Upper St. Clair, PA/Upper St. Clair HS).  Palmas finished with 11 saves.

Koebler spoke about Fayette's upbeat approach and its upcoming busy stretch.

"Even though we didn't get the results we wanted, the team is in great spirits," he said.  "They are working hard and enjoying themselves out on the field.  We can see improvement all through the roster.  Improvement turns into confidence and confidence motivates players to improve.  Heading into the heaviest part of our season, five games in 13 days, the team is energized, focused on continuous improvement, and thriving together on and off the field." 

Fayette returns to action Saturday when it hosts Penn State York (1-4).  Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m.

For more information on the soccer team, go to https://www.psfathletics.com/sports/msoc/index.