10/2/26

SCRANTON, Pa. – Lackawanna College men's soccer will make the trip out west in the Commonwealth to take on the Mountain Cats from the University of Pittsburgh – Johnstown on Saturday, October 3^rd. Kickoff is set for 3:00pm ET at the Pitt-Johnstown Soccer Field in Johnstown, PA.
 
Game Details
Who: Lackawanna College Falcons (0-7-2) at Pitt-Johnstown Mountain Cats (1-6-1)
When: Saturday, October 3^rd, 3:00pm ET
Where: Pitt-Johnstown Soccer Field; University of Pittsburgh – Johnstown; Johnstown, PA
 
Video | Live Stats
 
Video Coverage: PSAC Sports Digital Network
Fans who cannot attend in-person can watch along live via the PSAC Sports Digital Network.
 
Live stats: https://pittjohnstownathletics.com/sidearmstats/msoc/summary
Live stats coverage is available and will be updated as the game goes on.
 
The Falcons 
Lackawanna (0-7-2) enter the weekend on the wrong-end of a four-game losing streak, and last played on Wednesday against West Chester, dropping a 3-0 decision to the Golden Rams at home. The Falcons played a relatively even game during the first half with the Rams, but West Chester found the breakthrough in the 15^th minute, thanks to a forced turnover and a swift counterattack. West Chester scored two more goals in the second half, taking advantage of a set-piece near midfield to flick a goal in via header in the 53^rd, and then adding the third and final goal in the 87^th minute on a great individual effort. You can read the full recap HERE. 
 
Jonathan Cuellar (El Paso, TX) had a shot on target in the third minute, while Jozsef Mark Szilagyi (Budapest, Hungary) also posted a shot. Wisdom Afrani (Accra, Ghana) had a curling free kick that just missed late in the first half, and Will Clugh (Shippensburg, PA) took a shot from distance that lacked pace and ended in a save. Rowin Thomas (Abilene, TX) had four saves for the Falcons. 
 
On the season, the Falcons have given up 19 goals, an average of just over two per game, while scoring only two in nine games this year. Lackawanna has 73 shots, 29 on target (.397), with their opponents posting 131 shots, 46 on target (.351). The Falcons have 25 corner kicks, while their opponents have 54 corners this year. 
 
Lackawanna has gone over six games since its last goal, dating back to September 5^th against Berkely College (NJ). That's 575 minutes of game time without a goal.
 
The scorers for the Falcons are Aydin Boyunegmez (Millville, PA) and Miguel Pereira (Revere, MA), while midfielder Cristian Lopez-Contreras (Guatemala) assisted on each goal for the Falcons this season. Boyunegmez's goal came against Berkeley, a header off a free kick from Lopez-Contreras. Pereira's goal came in the draw against King's College on September 2^nd, late in the second half.
 
Tito Tokunboh-Salako (Columbia, MD) leads the team with ten shots, five on target. Tokunboh-Salako did not record a shot against West Chester in 65 minutes, but he had two shots, one on target, in just 19 minutes against Shippensburg on September 23^rd. He's tied with Afrani for the team-high in shots, but Afrani has three shots on target. Afrani's one shot against West Chester was the off-target free kick.
 
Lopez-Contreras, who has been out with injury for the last four games, has nine shots, five on frame this season. He has not played since the draw with Millersville on September 12^th, exiting with an injury just two minutes in.
 
Pereira has six shots, two on frame in his seven appearances. He hasn't recorded a shot in his last two contests.
 
In between the pipes, Thomas has been the starter in the last five games, making seven total appearances. He has 24 saves and has allowed 15 goals on the year, but he has one clean sheet this season, the draw with Millersville on September 12^th. The other keeper is Kevin Nievas (West Palm Beach, FL) who started the first four games of the season for Lackawanna College before suffering an injury. Nievas has four saves, but hasn't played since September 9^th against East Stroudsburg. 
 
Lackawanna College is coached by Will Flannery, in his first season at the helm and who took over the program in February earlier this calendar year. Flannery has coached and played collegiate soccer for the last ten years, previously serving as assistant coach at Lehigh University before coming to Lackawanna. In his one season with the Mountain Hawks, Lehigh made the Patriot League championship game and had six all-conference selections. Before his time in Bethlehem, Flannery spent seven years at Dickinson College in NCAA Division III. While there, he spent five seasons playing with the Devils, then transitioned into coaching immediately after his senior season concluded. Flannery became the first full-time assistant in program history and helped Dickinson achieve never-before-seen heights, including an NCAA Elite 8 appearance and finishing #6 in the national polls in 2024. He was a captain for three years while playing at Dickinson. Flannery also has experience coaching on the youth level, working with the Lehigh Soccer Academy and Lehigh Valley United Rush.
 
 
The Mountain Cats  
Pitt-Johnstown (1-6-1) enters the contest on a three-game skid, losing by a combined 12-0 over the last trio of games. The Mountain Cats earned a draw against Central Penn back on September 16^th, but fell 2-0 to California (PA), then 9-0 on the road at Gannon, and then 1-0 at home to Seton Hill this past Wednesday. The Griffins scored the breakthrough in the 32^nd minute to go ahead, and Pitt-Johnstown pushed for an equalizer just five minutes later, hitting the crossbar on a shot in the box. Keeper Sebastian Roman Rivera had seven saves to keep the Mountain Cats in the contest.
 
Pitt- Johnstown has scored eight goals this season, while allowing 27. The Mountain Cats have 73 shots, 40 on target (0.548), while their opponents have 144 tallies, 85 on frame (.590). UPJ has 24 corner kicks, while their opposition has 54 corner kicks. The Mountain Cats have 58 saves this season. 
 
Junior midfielder Noah Pawling has three goals and one assist on the season. He has a team-high 14 shots, seven on target. He scored a goal in the opener against Chestnut Hill on September 3^rd, then got two goals against Georgian Court on September 6^th, but has been held without a goal since. He had the assist on the only goal scored in the draw against Central Penn on September 16^th. He had two shots, including the one that hit the crossbar, in the loss to Seton Hill. 
 
Redshirt senior midfielder Jack Moyer has a pair of goals and one assist this season. Moyer has just two shots, both on target. His first goal came against Chestnut Hill, and he had the goal against Central Penn in the draw. Moyer hasn't recorded a shot in his last three games. He led the Mountain Cats in 2024 with five goals. 
 
Redshirt first-year midfielder Jean-Luc Renaud has a goal and an assist this season for the Mountain Cats, recording eleven shots, six on target. Renaud had an assist against Georgian Court and scored his first goal against Goldey-Beacom back on September 9^th. He had five shots, two on target, in the draw with Central Penn. He recorded two shots earlier this week against Seton Hill.
 
First-year keeper Geoge Pasko has the majority of appearances, starting in six games this year. Pasko has given up 21 goals, a 4.20 goals against average, and he has 40 saves. His season-best performance was against D'Youville, making eleven saves. He last appeared against Gannon, giving up nine goals in the first half on 20 shots faced. Roman Rivera, a sophomore, got the start against Central Penn, appeared in the second half against Gannon, and went the full 90 against Seton Hill this week. He has given up two goals and made 16 saves so far, facing 33 shots from the opposition. He's had seven saves in back-to-back appearances. 
 
The head coach is Eric Kinsey, now in his 27th season with UPJ. Kinsey joined the program as the head coach in 2000, and he's been there ever since. A Johnstown native, Kinsey is a 1991 graduate of Bishop McCort High School, and he played for four years as a keeper at La Roche College in Pittsburgh, where he graduated with an Accounting degree. Kinsey has coached youth and AAU soccer, and has been a part of the United States Olympic Development Program in the mid-2000's, as part of the PA West squad. He has coached 32 players to All-Conference honors, with two receiving All-Region accolades. 
 
 
Next 
Lackawanna College returns home this coming week, when the Falcons are scheduled to host East Stroudsburg University on Wednesday, October 7^th. Kick is set for 3:30pm ET at Schautz Stadium in Dunmore.