Box Score

LANGHORNE, PA - Moral victories might not show up in the final box score, but at least it can somewhat help ease the sting of losing.

The Crimson Eagles dropped a 3-2 decision to Penn State Harrisburg on Saturday, but not before earning some well-deserved respect from their counterpart.

The Nittany Lions, who came into the contest undefeated through three games, overcame an early 1-0 deficit by tallying three straight scores to secure their fourth win of the year.

But the fact that the Crimson Eagles "held" their opponent to three goals was a victory in and of itself as Penn State entered the contest with a potent offense that had previously been averaging six goals a game.

The host squad struck first as freshman forward Gary Bruce managed to beat Harrisburg keeper Josh Wolff at the 6:20 mark to give PBU the early 1-0. The Crimson Eagles would keep the Nittany Lions in check for the next 20 minutes, but PSH senior forward Daniel Francis managed to break the visitor's silence during the the 26th minute off a feed from teammate Caleb Hoppes.

Josh Clinger put Penn State up 2-1 during the 65th minute, and less than two minutes later Francis - who scored 21 goals a season ago and was named to the NEAC All-Conference squad - slipped in his second goal of the afternoon to give the visitors a 3-1 lead.

However, PBU's work wasn't done either. Sophomore Jon Minnema collected a ricochet off a Bruce misfire late in the half, pounding it home to make the deficit one with 15 minutes to go. Feeling a sense of urgency, the host squad's push down the stretch wasn't enough as Harrisburg packed in their backline to prevent the PBU evener.

The Nittany Lions ended the game wit ha 15-6 edge in total shots for the afternoon. PBU falls to 1-3 on the year while PSH moves to 4-0.

The Crimson Eagles will begin their conference slate on Tuesday during a date with Baptist Bible College on the road. Game time is 4:00 pm.