College Roundup Penn State advances in NCAAs

By John Manley

Barry Gorman’s Penn State Nittany Lions have reached the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division I soccer championship by defeating St. John’s, 2-1, in three overtimes. Both teams exchanged goals in the 37th minute, but went scoreless until Penn State’s Derek Pottinger found the net in the 123rd minute. This is the farthest the Nittany Lions have advanced in the playoffs since 1986. Next up is Ben Ten rival Indiana, which has defeated Gorman’s team twice this season. The Hoosiers won the first meeting, 4-2, then needed overtime to overcome Penn State, 2-1, in a Big Ten tournament match. Both matches were contested in Bloomington, Ind., the site of this weekend’s match. Coach Gorman hails from Belfast.

Basketball

Susan Moran has scored in double figures for St. Joseph’s (Pa.) in each of the Hawks first three games. The season opener found Moran netting 13 points in a 73-61 road victory over Virginia. The Hawks then stumbled badly against Penn State, losing 96-64. Moran had 12 points. St. Joe’s then took it out on Florida A&M, with a 75-37 bashing. Moran hit six of seven shots from the floor en route to a 13-point performance. New York area fans can see Moran, a Tullamore, Co. Offaly, product, this Saturday, when St. Joe’s takes on St. John’s in Jamaica, Queens, at 2 pm.

Niall Phelan came off the bench to ignite the Robert Morris offense, throwing down 10 points in 16 minutes, but it wasn’t enough as they suffered a 65-62 defeat to Bucknell. Phelan hit on four of six from the floor, including one of three from the vicinity of his home in Dublin. He also had three rebounds. Phelan was limited to only six minutes in Morris’ 66-63 loss to West Virginia. He converted his only try from the floor, that from three-point range. Morris is now 1-2.