Cabrini men’s soccer defeated Penn State Abington 3-1 on Saturday, Oct. 2. This is the third straight win for Cabrini men’s soccer with their record now being 3-7.
The game started out with a back-and-forth changing of possession. Junior back Anthony Girolamo scored an early goal off of a corner kick by junior defender Kyle Johnson. The Cavaliers settled in after the first goal but Penn State Abington’s Alix Edwards scored shortly after, tying the game 1-1.
Throughout the game, rough play continued to occur from both teams resulting in several warnings to different players from both the Cavs and Penn State Abington.
Even with the warnings, the game remained very physical. Slide tackles, pushing and shirt holding continued until Cabrini coach Glen Jaskelewicz requested the referee begin carding.
No cards were given until the second half. Penn State’s freshman Philip Curry was given a yellow card after a slide tackle. Other Penn State players argued with the referee on the call but were shot down.
Cabrini’s mid-fielder Pat Wehring was also given a yellow card in the second half.
The first half remained a competition of possession but no more goals were made. At half time, Cabrini had seven shots on goal while Penn State only had two.
“We came out flat in the first half. After the first goal, we settled in. We were on our heels. We needed to dictate the way the game went,” Eric Collins, junior mid-fielder, said.
Collins took charge the second half and scored two more goals for the Cavs. The first goal was assisted by Jim Mattock. Collins kicked it straight over goalkeeper Carmack’s head and it bounced straight into the goal.
Before Penn State had another opportunity to tie the game, Collins scored again. Sophomore mid-fielder Ryan Juhring assisted the goal in a crowd of players making the score 3-1.
On a beautiful day at Edith Robb Dixon Field, the crowd was all smiles and cheers after the Cavs pulled ahead with an extra goal.
The game remained physical until the end. Penn State’s once vocal coach sat on the bench, arms folded and silent.
“When a game is rough and physical, I tell our guys not to get caught up in it,” Jaskelewicz said. “Do not retaliate. The easiest way to get hurt is to dribble so I tell them, one, two, touch. Pass the ball as quick as possible.”
The Cavaliers have faced their deal of injuries this season with four starters out early in the season. Jaskelewicz said the biggest improvement on the team so far has been the bench. “With four starters out, our bench players have been huge. They have gotten so much better.”
All injured players are expected to return healthy soon but in the meantime, the bench remains most critical for Cabrini.
Senior goalkeeper Mike Viscariello had two stopped goals for the Cavs and with 11 shots on goal, PSU Abington’s Carmack had eight.
While Collins led the Cavs to a 3-1 win, he believes he can still improve his game in the second half of the season, which includes many important conference games.
“We need to come out hard every game,” Gabriel Kuhn, freshman mid-fielder, said. “Our non-conference schedule was hard but the upcoming games are most important.”
