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ERIE, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University men's soccer team clinched a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference playoff berth with a 2-1 upset win at No. 12 Gannon Wednesday night.
Slippery Rock improved to 8-3-6 overall and 3-3-2 in PSAC games and clinched the berth thanks to a Lock Haven loss earlier in the day. SRU will play on the road in the first round of the playoffs next Tuesday, but the opponent will not be known until after this Saturday's games. SRU will either be the No. 5 or No. 6 seed. Gannon, which drops to 12-3 overall and 6-2 in the PSAC finds itself in a three-way tie for the top seed in the league.
The Golden Knights opened the year with nine straight wins and were the top ranked team in the region for much of the season, but have now dropped three of their last six matches.
Slippery Rock got goals from
Ryan Lutke and
Brandon Chiu and an assist from
Stephen Donnelly in the win.
Clayton Master made three saves in goal to earn the win.
Gannon's lone goal came from Tyler Hollingsworth off an assist from Sean Pike. Jason Barbarino made four saves in the loss.
Slippery Rock finished the game with advantages of 20-18 in total shots and 6-4 in shots on goal. Gannon earned a 5-2 edge in corner kicks.
Lutke opened the game's scoring with an unassisted strike from 25 yards out that curved inside the post to put Slippery Rock up 1-0 in the 15th minute.
The Golden Knights evened the game at 1-1 in the 31st minute when Hollsingsworth scored into the corner of the net after taking a pass in traffic from Pike.
The game-winner came in the 68th minute when Chiu finished a long crossing pass from Donnelly to make it 2-1 Slippery Rock.
Slippery Rock will close the regular season with a noon match at Lock Haven Saturday and will learn its opening round opponent for the playoffs at the conclusion of Saturday's league matches.
