CALIFORNIA (Oct. 4) – Junior goalkeeper
Lucas Exner (Horstmar, Germany/Pascal-Gymnasium) surpassed 200 career saves on Wednesday night, as the California University of Pennsylvania men's soccer team dropped a 4-2 decision against Urbana (Ohio) in non-conference action at Phillipsburg Soccer Facility.
With the loss, the Vulcans drop to 1-8 this season and close out their non-conference schedule which included four games against Mountain East Conference (MEC) opponents. Meanwhile, the Blue Knights move to 5-5 overall after being ranked No. 12 in the preseason top 25 poll behind consecutive appearances in the Round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament.
Exner finished the contest 10 saves and now has made 201 career saves, becoming the first goalie to eclipse the mark since
Derek Yobbi (2007-10). Exner has registered double-digit saves just five times in 37 career starts. A native of Germany, Exner has appeared in 39 games during his career and played over 3,330 minutes while tallying nine shutouts. He was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Defensive Athlete of the Year in 2016 after totaling 91 saves, which ranks as the most in recent program history.
The Vulcan attack nearly scored in the opening minutes of the match when a header from freshman Jaheed Loblack (Pickering, Ontario/St. Mary's Catholic) hit the post and a follow-up shot from fellow freshman Ismael Garcia (Valladolid, Spain/IES Emilio Ferrari) was saved by the Urbana keeper. Garcia notched the initial goal of the match on a header off a throw-in from sophomore
Mark Wolf (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) in the 27th minute. The lead was short lived, as the Blue Knights recorded a goal less than a minute later to level the contest. Exner defused a one-on-one chance by Urbana's leading scorer freshman Antoine Ravera in the 34th minute when he closed off the attack to keep the game tied. Urbana tallied its second goal at the 41:23-mark on a free kick from sophomore Jasminko Dizdarevic. Just before the halftime whistle, freshman Benjamin Cancian registered his second goal of the game to give the Blue Knights a 3-1 lead. Urbana held a 12-5 shot advantage at the break, in addition to a 3-2 edge in corner kicks.
The game action diminished in the opening 21 minutes of the second half, as only three shots occurred on goal. In the 74th minute, Cal U was awarded a penalty kick after a hand ball in the box prevented a shot on goal. Junior
Eric Campbell (Erie, Pa./Harbor Creek) took the chance and scored his team-leading third goal of the season to put the Vulcans down 3-2. Urbana notched an insurance goal at the 79:59-mark when sophomore Jacob Wischmeier beat the keeper one-on-one to retake a two-score advantage. Exner posted four saves in the final seven-plus minutes of the second half.
The Blue Knights held a 23-9 shot advantage, while Cal U finished with a 5-3 edge in corner kicks.
The Vulcans return to PSAC play on Saturday, Oct. 7, when they face off against West Chester at 3:30 p.m.
