Box Score
LANGHORNE, PA - In the oh-so-important battle for first place within the East Region of NCCAA II play, Lancaster Bible College stole the upper hand in a 2-1 shocker over PBU Wednesday afternoon.
Coming in as the number three ranked squad nationally in all of NCCAA II, Lancaster escaped with a one goal victory by carding two scores in the final fifteen minutes of play
in a game that, in all likelihood, should determine the top seed in the upcoming NCCAA II regional playoffs.
The win puts the Chargers in control and - pending a major upset - will give the red and black home field advantage come postseason play.
The number one ranked defense in the nation (0.88 goals/game) lived up to the hype as the Chargers allowed just one score in spite of a flurry of 20 Crimson Eagle shots on the afternoon. LBC's "bend-but-not-break" mentality coupled with their ability to capitalize on the offensive half helped the Chargers to their fourth win in a row, and, simultaneously, snaps PBU's three game winning streak.
After firing 11 shots in the opening stanza, the Crimson Eagles finally broke the scoreless drought when senior forward Jeremy Dunham managed to punch in his team-leading sixth goal of the season with just under 10 minutes remaining in the first half to give the hosts a 1-0 edge.
With both teams realizing the significance of Wednesday's contest entering the final 45 minutes, things began to get physical. In fact, there were 10 total fouls sprinkled out among the two longtime rivals (five of them cards) in the second period alone, including what ended up being red card dished out to PBU keeper Andy Ecker.
Ecker's ejection led to a Lancaster penalty kick - which the Chargers finished - and left the Crimson Eagles shorthanded with a man down for the remainder of the match.
With opportunity abound, LBC struck again less than five minutes later. Junior forward Bryan Hege nailed a strike that found the back of the cage to give the Chargers a 2-1 with 10:49 left in regulation. A Crimson Eagle late game goal wasn't in the cards as the visitors held on to secure their eighth triumph of the season.
Incredibly, Wednesday's loss marks PBU's fourth defeat by a single goal. The Crimson Eagles' overall record slips to 3-4 while Lancaster Bible improves to 8-1.
On Saturday the soccer team will compete in their second conference match of the year by heading to Scranton to take on Marywood University (5-2, 1-0 CSAC) at 3:00 pm.
