Men’s Soccer Defeated In NEAC First Round Tilt

AURORA, N.Y. – Playing in their first North Eastern Athletic Conference postseason game dating back to the 2009 season, the No. 4-seeded Wells College men's soccer team was defeated by the No. 5-seeded Penn St.-Abington Nittany Lions by a 1-0 margin on Saturday at the South Athletic Field.

With the loss, Wells wraps up its most successful season in team history, finishing with a 11-6-1 overall record. The Nittany Lions (5-8-4) collect their fifth overall win of the season and move on to play the top-seeded hosts from Morrisville State College on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 11:30 a.m.

After 87 scoreless minutes, Penn St.-Abington's Gustavo Alegria bent home a corner kick that the officials ruled crossed the goal line with only 2:40 remaining in regulation time to elevate the visitors to a 1-0 lead. Cumulatively, the Nittany Lions outshot the Express by a 12-to-7 margin that includes a decisive 9-to-4 shots advantage in the second half alone.

The heavy offensive pressure in the second half by the Nittany Lions also forced Wells to allow seven corner kicks in the final 45 minutes alone. The final corner kick by the Nittany Lions, however, proved to be the most costly as the Express were unable to clear the ball from their own defensive end. Alegria's corner kick goal came only 17 seconds after his first corner kick of the offensive sequence.

Wells goalkeeper Michael Sciotti (North Syracuse, N.Y.) drew the tough luck loss, halting three-of-four shots on net that he faced. Fellow Third Team All-NEAC goalkeeper Dan Saint-Pol picked up the win for the Nittany Lions as the Wells offense only placed two shots on net through the 90 minute affair – both were stopped by Saint-Pol.