MIDDLETOWN, Pa. - Penn State Harrisburg's men's soccer team earned a 2-1 overtime victory in United East Quarterfinal action over Cairn on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 1, to move onto the semifinal round of the conference tournament.


Malachi Abma scored the equalizer goal off a penalty kick in the 33rd minute, while Byron Hines netted the game-winning marker in extra time thanks to an assist from Kristopher Lage.


Cairn (5-10-3) wasted no time against Penn State Harrisburg (10-6-2), as Alijah Miller shot one past Lions' goalkeeper Erik Rodriguez to put the visitors up 1-0 just five minutes into the contest. Despite the deficit, the home team applied pressure and earned multiple corner kicks, with Aidan McWilliams and Cole Isaacs facilitating the attacks.


In the 33rd minute, Penn State Harrisburg earned a penalty shot after a foul occurred in the box and Abma was called up for the second time this season to take the free one for the Lions. Abma easily found the back of the net in the 1v1 against Highlanders' goalie Xander Jakeway to tie the contest up 1-1. Despite a pair of corner kicks by Isaacs and an attempt on target by Alexander Benbatoul, the game remained even going into halftime.


Just minutes into the second half, Addis Tafese forced Jakeway to make a save off a header before Tafese had yet another attempt that went high of the goal. Isaacs and William Kim also got into the mix of things, taking shots of their own, but to no avail. Cairn had several tries of their own during the second frame, including shots by Zane Wheeler and Matthews Lungu, the latter of which forced Rodriguez to protect the net and make a save.


After 90 minutes, the contest was still deadlocked and was forced into golden-goal overtime action. Colin O'Hara had a shot on target at the 93rd-minute mark before the Highlanders' Miller had an attempt that necessitated a defensive save by Aidan McWilliams and Ethan Blanchard's subsequent shot hit the post. After a hectic first few minutes of overtime for the Lions' defense, the offense took advantage of a foul just outside the 18 and Hines slipped one past Cairn's goalkeeper, assisted by Lage, to end the contest 2-1 in favor of Penn State Harrisburg in dramatic fashion.


NOTABLES
- Abma netted his sixth goal and second penalty shot on the season against the Highlanders.
- Hines waited for the perfect time to score the first goal of his career, netting the game winner for the Lions.
- Lage tallied the lone assist of the afternoon, marking his first of the season.
- Penn State Harrisburg topped Cairn in shots 10-5 and in corner kicks 7-2 on the afternoon.


WHO'S NEXT?
The Lions move on to the United East Tournament Semifinals on Wednesday, Nov. 5, as they host No. 3 Penn State Abington.


STAY CONNECTED
Fans can keep up with Penn State Harrisburg Athletics all season long on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Youtube using the handle @pshbgathletics.