Penn State Scranton Men’s Soccer Kicks-Off the 2022 Season

By: Ross Turetsky, Penn State Scranton Athletics

On a gorgeous Wednesday afternoon in the electric city, Penn State Scranton men's soccer kicked-off their 2022 campaign with a tough 7-1 home defeat to non-conference foe the Montgomery County Community College Mustangs. After being outscored 5-0 in the first 45-minutes of play, Scranton showed some impressive grit and determination in the second half and scored their first goal of the season and were outscored by just one, 2-1, in the final 45-minutes of regulation.

The road warrior Mustangs got off to a quick start when Joseph Mwera scored the first of his three goals at the 28:59 mark of the first half to give his ball club the early 1-0 advantage over Scranton. Then shortly after, at the 29:57 mark, Chino Ahukanna scored unassisted to increase the Mustangs lead to 2-0. After Scranton gave up an own goal to make it 3-0, Mwera would find the back of the net once again, this time assisted by Samir Razi at the 40:25 mark, as the Mustangs lead climbed to 4-0. Last but certainly not least, the Mustangs would wrap up their scoring barrage right before the first half final whistle blew, as Felipe Silva drilled it in unassisted at 43:21 to give his squad the dominant 5-0 lead at the break.

After the Mustangs' Mwera completed his hat trick with his third goal of the day early in the second half to give his club a 6-0 advantage, the Scranton Lions would come roaring back when sophomore Connor Tone picked up his squad's lone goal in the contest, assisted by fellow sophomore Raphael Carvalho, to cut the deficit to 6-1 at the 65:31 mark to give the Lions a much needed spark on the field for the rest of the game. Unfortunately, the Mustangs would score one more goal in the match, when Ahukanna picked up his second score in the matinee at the 76:08 mark to give his club the 7-1 lead they would enjoy at game's end.

Scranton had notable performances from sophomores Tone and reserve goal-keeper Victor Bulaya in the contest. Besides getting the Lions first goal of the young season in front of the hometown fans, Tone accounted for four of the team's five shots on goal on the day and gave his squad a spirited effort throughout. Finally, Bulaya came in relief of freshman goalie Brandon Novak and was solid between the pipes, as he saved seven of his eight shots on goal he faced in his quality 26:28 of work.

Now veteran head coach Joe Baltrusaitis and his 0-1 Penn State Scranton men's soccer team will look to bounce back and capture their first win of the season when they go on the road to play nearby Dunmore school, the Marywood Universiy Pacers this Saturday, September 3rd, with the match scheduled to begin at 4pm.