Versatile Penn State Harrisburg team is turning heads
HARRISBURG, Penn. — The Penn State Harrisburg men’s soccer team doesn’t have a strict plan in mind for winning games. The Lions believe they have the tools for any situation.
Reflecting on the Penn State Harrisburg’s success a day before they upset No. 2 Messiah on Saturday at home, Lions coach Dan Krzyzanowicz couldn’t say enough about his team’s versatility. The Lions, who were ranked No. 24 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Division III Top 25 poll, can handle any situation they are confronted with.
“They’ve done a phenomenal job of making adjustments at halftime and listening to things pregame,” Krzyzanowicz said. “We’ve got a lot of flexibility with all the attacking pieces we have.”
Against Messiah (14-2-2), Penn State Harrisburg grinded out a victory. The Lions limited the Falcons to two shots on goal. Lions forward Joey Aman scored in the 31st minute off an assist from Sebastian Krusztofow for the game’s only goal.
Krzyzanowicz said this type of game reflects how Penn State Harrisburg is able to attack.
“We have an ability to unlock defenses in certain ways based on what the game calls for and what the opponent is doing,” he said. “We have players who bring different tools and different skill sets into the game.”
Penn State Harrisburg has had 17 different players score goals this season, including a team-high 12 from Aman. Jose Palomeque has pocketed eight goals while Daniel Fombu has collected seven. That diversity on offense has led to success in the standings for the Lions.
Penn State Harrisburg finished the regular season 13-1-1 overall and 8-0 in United East Conference play. The Lions have outscored their opponents by an average margin of 3.73 to .45 per game in route to their second straight conference title. Penn State Harrisburg also won in 2019, while it didn’t hold a season in 2020 due to the pandemic.
The Lions have won six straight since tying Dickinson 1-1 Oct. 6 at home.
While Krzyzanowicz doesn’t like to compare teams, he believes how this Lions team plays on defense will help them once the postseason starts.
“This group defends as a unit well,” he said. “We work for each other. I think we are a little improved in our attacking quality. We’ve added our dynamic pieces, guys who can score goals. In the past, we were more top heavy. We’ve had a lot of guys score game-winning goals this year. We’ve also had a lot of guys get assists. Any day we can have guys score goals in a big moment.”
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