The Behrend men’s and women’s soccer teams had mixed results over the past week of play. Both teams took on nationally ranked Carnegie Mellon squads and were slated to play the Franciscan Barons in Bethany, West Virginia. However, due to poor field and weather conditions, the men’s game was postponed and rescheduled. Despite good fights, both teams fell to Carnegie Mellon. The lone bright spot of the week cane when the women shutout the Barons.

​

Last Tuesday, the men’s team hosted the Carnegie Mellon Tartans, and were essentially throttled. In one of their first late games of the season, the Lions only mustered one goal against Tartan keeper Alec Lam, which came off the foot of Ryan Maurer late in the first half. Prior to this goal, Carnegie Mellon had built a 4-0 lead. Their first goal came in the eighth minute when Jordi Long managed to net one past Behrend keeper Chris Ralph. Long, Elliot Cohen, and Philip Petrakian subsequently scored for the Tartans, and that was all of the action for the game. Of the combined six shots on goal in the second half, none resulted in goals. As can be concluded, Carnegie Mellon dominated in the first half, taking 11 shots on goal to Behrend’s two, before the second half stalemate secured a Tartan win.

​

Also on Tuesday, the women’s soccer team traveled to Pittsburgh to face 12th-ranked Carnegie Mellon. Unlike the men’s team, the women’s team were engaged in a close contest in which one single goal made all the difference. Unfortunately, the Lions did not manage to shoot a single shot on goal of the two they attempted, and additionally were not awarded a single corner kick. Madi Jones delivered a solid performance, stopping nine of 10 Tartan shots. The lone goal in this matchup came when the Tartan’s Kailey Bruch ripped one past Jones from over 25 yards out midway through the first half.

​

Behrend was able to turn things around over the weekend against the Franciscan Barons, beating the Barons by a three-goal margin and maintaining their undefeated conference record in a commanding offensive assault. In spite of weather delays throughout the game, this game was a quintessential example of defense creating offense. Behrend did not allow a single shot, leaving Jones and Dana DiCamillo to have a very manageable evening in net. The Lions tallied 17 total shots, 13 of which came in the second half. It did take some time for the scoring to get started, as the 38th minute saw Laxie Frank touch one in off of a pass from Emily Indof, who later netted the Lions’ third goal. Brenna McGuire added an unassisted goal in between and the Lions shutout the Barons 3-0.

​

Behrend’s soccer teams will continue conference play throughout the week as they take on Pitt-Bradford and Penn State Altoona at home. The Pitt-Bradford games start on Tuesday at 5 p.m., while the Penn State Altoona games will take place on Saturday starting at 2 p.m.