The sixth-ranked Gannon University men’s soccer team extended its win streak to six games following a successful revenge trip to California (Pa.) on Saturday.
The Knights, whose only loss of the season came at the hands of the Vulcans, 1-0, on Oct. 5 at McConnell Family Stadium, this time turned the tables and came away with a 2-0 victory.
The win boosted Gannon’s overall record to 12-1 and left the Knights 5-1 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference play with four regular-season games remaining.
Gannon will next see action at 3 p.m. Wednesday when Pitt-Johnstown visits McConnell Family Stadium.
In Saturday’s win over Cal U, two early bookings saw the Knights go down a man in the 23rd minute after Alex Lee Yaw got sent off by referee Corey Yerace.
Gannon found itself at a disadvantage but pressed on and dominated the midfield despite the early setback.
Ben Andrews added to his scoring account this season in the 41st minute with a finish from close distance off a cross into the box to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.
Sergio Del Castillo found himself on the scoresheet in the 66th minute after Tinashe Katsande crossed a ball in front of the net that Castillo finished in the corner. That gave Katsande his second assist of the match.
The Vulcans found themselves with an opportunity to pull one back as a foul inside the box saw the referee give a penalty in the 86th minute. Vulcan striker Abdulla Nuredini was denied from the spot by Gannon goalkeeper Chandler Hallwood to preserve the clean sheet and 2-0 win.
Over the past four games, the Knights have held their opponents scoreless over 344 minutes of action, which includes three shutout wins over that span.
While the men were victorious last week, Gannon’s women’s team suffered a loss and a tie to fall to 6-6-2 overall and 5-6-2 in the PSAC going into Wednesday’s 6 p.m. meeting with visiting Edinboro at McConnell Family Stadium.
Two second-half goals from Indiana University of Pennsylvania made the difference in the Crimson Hawks’ 2-0 win over the Knights on Oct. 23.
Gannon outshot the Hawks 26-6 and dominated most of the possession.
The first goal was scored on a counter attack from IUP striker Taylor Karan.
The second was scored on a free kick that found its way into the upper left 90 and sealed the game for the Hawks.
On Saturday, the Knights traveled to California (Pa.) for an intense match filled with emotion and late drama.
Gannon went down early in the 14th minute with a goal from Abby McComb, and that proved to be the lone goal of the first half.
The Knights would equalize with a goal from Megan McCartney in the 60th minute, leveling the match at 1-1.
The Vulcans responded almost instantly in the 62nd minute with a goal from Juliana Cruz, which gave Cal U a 2-1 lead.
But Gannon’s McCartney answered two minutes later with her second goal of the match to tie the score at 2-2.
The tie didn’t last long, though, as the Vulcans were awarded a penalty kick in the 68th minute that was converted by Juliana Cruz, which once again put Cal U in front, 3-2.
The two teams shared four goals in eight minutes as the Vulcans held on to the lead heading near the end of regulation.
But halfway through the 89th minute, with 30 seconds left in regulation, Gannon goalkeeper Kennedy Solymosi played a through ball to Maddie North, who buried the shot and saved the Knights.
That would be the last goal of the contest as the teams went into double overtime and could not get anything else.
JUAN BATISTA
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