Versatile Penn State Harrisburg team is turning heads
HARRISBURG, Penn. — The Penn State Harrisburg men鈥檚 soccer team doesn鈥檛 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鈥檚 success a day before they upset No. 2 Messiah on Saturday at home, Lions coach Dan Krzyzanowicz couldn鈥檛 say enough about his team鈥檚 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.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e done a phenomenal job of making adjustments at halftime and listening to things pregame,鈥� Krzyzanowicz said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got a lot of flexibility with all the attacking pieces we have.鈥�
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鈥檚 only goal.
Krzyzanowicz said this type of game reflects how Penn State Harrisburg is able to attack.
鈥淲e have an ability to unlock defenses in certain ways based on what the game calls for and what the opponent is doing,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e have players who bring different tools and different skill sets into the game.鈥�
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鈥檛 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鈥檛 like to compare teams, he believes how this Lions team plays on defense will help them once the postseason starts.
鈥淭his group defends as a unit well,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e work for each other. I think we are a little improved in our attacking quality. We鈥檝e added our dynamic pieces, guys who can score goals. In the past, we were more top heavy. We鈥檝e had a lot of guys score game-winning goals this year. We鈥檝e also had a lot of guys get assists. Any day we can have guys score goals in a big moment.鈥�
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