The Lincoln University of Pennsylvania men’s soccer team used some late firepower to defeat Penn State-Brandywine, 3-1, Wednesday afternoon. The Lions’ late burst helped coach Z. Joseph Jallah earn his first career coaching victory.
“(The victory) feels great and it’ll feel much better once we begin to play more consistently,” Jallah said. “I am happy with the win, but we have some room for improvement.”
Lincoln overcame a sluggish first half and a one-goal deficit to subdue PSU-Brandywine. After falling behind 1-0 on a goal from PSU-Brandywine’s Scott Loayza, the Lions used a pair of perfectly executed set pieces to wrestle the lead from PSU-Brandywine and take control of the contest.
The Lions answered 10 minutes later when senior midfielder and biology major Theon Francis (Tobago & Trinidad/Queens Royal College) scored the first of his two goals on a free-kick that went around the wall and into the net.
Senior midfielder and health science major Rahsaan Lisimba (Philadelphia, PA/Penn Wood) came out of nowhere to score and give the Lions the lead for good, 2-1, with about 20 minutes remaining. Sophomore Seye Adekayne recorded the assist on Lisimba’s goal with a perfectly placed corner kick that sailed into the box, six yards in front of the net and onto Lisimba’s waiting foot.
“Everything changed for us in the second half,” Jallah said. “I felt like we were trying to be too fine with the ball and score cute goals in the first half. At halftime, I emphasized to the team to take advantage of set pieces and shoot more. I got mad because we didn’t do that in the first half.”
Francis provided some much needed insurance when he scored. Sophomre midfielder and accounting major Joseph Forde (Sipira, Trinidad & Tobago/Bensalem) was credited with the assist on Francis’ second goal.
Sophomore goalie and physical education major Andre Wilkinson (St. Michael’s, Barbados/William Grady) was superb in goal making three saves. Lincoln outshot host PSU-Brandywine, 26-4. The Lions also had five corner kicks. Also turning in strong efforts for Lincoln, according to Jallah, were sophomore computer science major Dominic Mensah, sophomore engineering major Seye Adakayne, senior defender Jerrell Hooker (Trinidad & Tobago/Presentation College) and sophomore Eric-Marc Kaoudio.
Lincoln returns to action Saturday afternoon when it hosts Briarcliffe (N.Y.) College beginning at 3:00 p.m. Please note the time change. The game was moved from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. It will be the start of Lincoln’s second of three sets of back-to-back games in 2008. The Lions also host Gallaudet Sunday afternoon in the second game of a doubleheader at 3:00 p.m.