Box Score
LANCASTER, PA - Heading into Saturday's contest, the defending NCCAA II East Regional Champs knew that it was going to be a slug-it-out type of battle against longtime rival Lancaster Bible College.
The only question was if PBU could defend their East Region Crown a fourth consecutive year, this time against a determined - if not downright pesky - Charger group that handed the Crimson Eagles a 2-1 loss in Langhorne back on September 24.
Question answered.
On Saturday afternoon the Crimson Eagles suppressed any doubt that the group would succumb in the East Region Title match for the first time in four years. Instead, PBU took Lancaster’s best punches early through the first 40 minutes, rallying in the second half sparked by two timely goals by Crimson Eagle newfound hero Phil Haas, who helped give the visiting squad a 3-2 upset victory over the top-seeded Chargers.
Despite being outplayed in the first half, Lancaster managed to strike first. Forty minutes into the contest, Kyle Zook lofted a beautiful shot past Crimson Eagle keeper Andy Ecker to give the hosts a 1-0 edge at the break.
Less than eight minutes into the second half, however, Haas combated Zook's efforts by connecting on what ended up being his first of two goals over the span of less than a single minute, taking a perfect pass from Justin Hays and pounding it past Charger goalie Jake Kreider to tie the game. Just 48 seconds later Haas played a ball towards the LBC net and Kreider misplayed it, giving the Crimson Eagles a 2-1 advantage.
Lancaster wasn't deterred as the second goal seemed to give them added spark. The Chargers would tie the game at the 70:45 mark when Zook broke behind the Crimson Eagle back line and put a shot past Ecker.
With the clock spiraling downward and overtime looming, senior forward Jeremy Dunham came through in the clutch for a group in dire need of a goal. Dunham poured in his 12th and perhaps most important score of the season with 5:59 left to help give the PBU a 3-2 victory.
The senior forward’s third game-winning goal of the season was enough to help extend the Crimson Eagles’ season, as a loss to the Chargers would have ended PBU’s year. Instead, the team will compete in the NCCAA II National Tournament, November 14-17, in Kisammee, Florida.
"This was truly a team effort all around," said Coach Clay Roberts. "We've had a tough season but it was nice to see the team come together this week and play as one," added Roberts. "We fought back against a very good LBC team and I'm very proud of our guys. They deserve this."
The Crimson Eagles improve to 8-11 on the season with the win while Lancaster falls to 13-6-1.
