PITTSBURGH, PA – La Roche men's soccer (9-8) scored four second-half goals to down Pitt-Greensburg (11-6-1) and advance to their eighth AMCC Tournament Semifinals. The Redhawks will meet #2 Medaille who have won 5 of the past 7 AMCC Championships.
La Roche struck first early in the second half and cruised on four unanswered goals. Yousef Barqawi headed in a long throw from Robert Fraino to give the Redhawks a one goal advantage before Ryan Luffey blasted a shot past the Pitt-Greensburg goalkeeper six minutes later. Tyler Irwin found the back of the net in the 74th minute for his second goal in two games and Bryan Weimerskirch added his twelfth goal of the season in the 86th minute.
Pitt-Greensburg's best scoring chance came on a breakaway late in the first half but Dave Hidinger made a tremendous sliding tackle to keep the game scoreless.
Luffey led La Roche with 4 points (1 goal, 2 assists) and Barqawi, Weimerskirch, and Irwin added a goal each. Chad Trozzi registered 2 assists in the tournament win.
Hidinger, Fraino, Mark D'Uva, and Kurt Hoover played stellar defense in front of Nick Sabol to help the Redhawks preserve their second shutout in the past three games.
La Roche will travel to Medaille on Wednesday, October 31 for an AMCC Tournament Semifinal game. The Redhawks will look to avenge a 2-1 loss to the Mavericks earlier this season.