La Plume, Pa. –
Haris Sabovic (Brodheadsville, Pa./Pleasant Valley) recorded six points while
Ibrahim Tounkara (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth Area) added a goal and an assist of the bench to lead Keystone College to a convincing, 4-1 victory over visiting Penn State Altoona in non-conference men's soccer action on Saturday afternoon in La Plume. The Giants improve to 3-3-1 heading into Colonial States Athletic Conference play while the Lions see their record drop to 3-3 on the year.
Keystone opened the scoring in the 30
th minute of Saturday's contest as Tounkara ran onto a thru-ball played by Sabovic and made no mistake by burying a shot into the far right side of the net for the first goal of his collegiate career.
The Giants doubled their lead less than five minutes by making good on a set piece. Sabovic served the restart in from the right flank where
Andrew Lupinacci (Stratford, N.J./Sterling) headed the ball back across the box to
Jordan Vance (Manalapan, N.J./Manalapan), who headed home his second goal of the season.
Penn State Altoona cut its halftime deficit to 2-1 in the 40
th minute when Seth Murelle converted a penalty kick into the left side of the net after Keystone was whistled for a foul in the box.
The Giants held the one goal edge at halftime despite being outshot by a 12-6 margin over the opening 45 minutes of play.
Sabovic restored Keystone's two-goal advantage in the 65
th minute, running onto a thru-ball from Tounkara a ripping a left-footed shot that Lions' goalkeeper Liam Grady got a hand on, but not enough to keep out.
Sabovic closed out the scoring in the 82
nd minute as the beneficiary of a strong individual effort by
Aadil Mendez (Manhattan, N.Y./Pocono Mountain East), who beat several defenders to get the end-line where he slotted a ball back to
Matthew Sim (Tomball, Texas/Tomball Memorial), who directed a ball to the back post for Sabovic to deposit into the empty net from close range for his team-leading sixth goal of the season.
Steven Heintz, Jr. (Ardsley, Pa./Abington) made five saves to pick up his second win in goal on the year while Grady made six stops in a losing effort for the Lions.
Penn State Altoona held a 16-15 edge in shots for the game, but Keystone had the advantage in shots on goal, 10-6. The Lions also had six corner kick chances to four for the Giants.
Keystone will open Colonial States Athletic Conference play next Saturday at local rival Marywood University. Opening kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Scranton.