Brandywine Scores Pivotal PSUAC Victory Over York

MEDIA, Pennsylvania -- Penn State Brandywine netted a goal in each half and pitched its sixth shutout of the season to claim a key Penn State University Athletic Conference men's soccer triumph over Penn State York by a 2-0 score on Wednesday afternoon.

With the victory, Brandywine overtook York for sole possession of first place in the PSUAC with a 7-1 conference record. The Lions can clinch the regular-season title and No. 1 seed in next week's PSUAC Tournament with a victory Saturday against Penn State New Kensington on Senior Day (2:00 pm).

Brandywine and York were evenly matched throughout most of the first half, but the Lions struck for a late goal just before halftime to take a 1-0 lead. Pat Lutes (Drexel Hill, Pa./Monsignor Bonner) headed a pass to Malcolm Burton (Lansdowne, Pa./Monsignor Bonner), who slipped a shot past York goalkeeper Paul Ambrose at the 41:02 mark.

Just four minutes into the second half, Brandywine doubled its lead with an insurance goal. Bill Walleekendeh (Chester, Pa./Chester) rang a long free kick off the post, but Josh Burton (West Chester, Pa./PA Cyber Charter) was there to clean up the rebound and deposited his second goal of the season.

Brandywine goalkeeper Pat O'Neill (Morton, Pa./Ridley) made the two-goal lead stand up as he stopped all five shots he faced to register his third shutout of the season. Brandywine's defense has allowed just six goals and has posted six shutouts in eight conference matches.

Each team tallied five shots on goal and three corner kicks. Ambrose stopped three shots for York, which fell to 7-2 in league play and now sits in a three-way tie for second place.