JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (Sept. 6, 2026) - Georgian Court Men's Soccer used a four-goal second half to overpower Pitt-Johnstown 5-2 Sunday afternoon. The Lions scored four times in 26 minutes as they came from behind to erase a 2-1 halftime deficit. The win extends Georgian Court's unbeaten streak to four games to start the season as they improve to 2-0-2.
How it Happened
• Georgian Court was in command much of the afternoon. They more than doubled the Mountain Cats in shots 20-9, and put 11 on target.
• The Mountain Cats offense put just four shots on the GCU net.
• Corner kicks were roughly even with the Mountain Cats taking seven and the Lions six.
• Common fouls saw the Lions pick up 11 to the Mountain Cats' eight, but the Lions were only booked for one yellow card and Pitt-Johnstown was called for three.
• The score could have been even greater in favor of the Lions, who were called offsides on seven occasions.
1st Half
• Most shots in the first 30 minutes were either high or wide of the target. Georgian Court put a pair on net, but the Mountain Cat goalkeeper was there to make the save.
• The action picked up in the 37th minute.
Anthony Ryan committed a foul in the box which led to a penalty kick.
• Pitt-Johnstown's Noah Pawling took the attempt and connected for the game's first score.
• It didn't take long for the Lions to respond. Just 40 seconds later, a
Nabeel Khan shot was saved and
Shermicah Moore was there to clean up the rebound and tie the game at one.
• With less than two minutes to play, Pawling again gave the Mountain Cats the lead. He was right in front of the goal line and finished with a diving header on a pass from Jon-Luc Renaud to put UPJ up 2-1 at the break.
2nd Half
• The frenzy in the final 10 minutes of the first half carried over into the start of the second which was played with a much faster tempo.
• A little more than five minutes in, the GCU pressure was mounting. After a couple of UPJ goal kicks, GCU again got the ball back in the offensive zone.
Gijs van Eif split a pair of defenders which sprung open
Sander Rynning. Van Eif's pass found Rynning's foot at the top of the 18 and he cashed in from there, tying the game in the 53rd minute.
• Just five minutes later the duo connected again. Van Eif had possession at the top of the box and passed back to Rynning who settled, went left to right with the left foot and scored what proved to be the game-winner.
• The Lions kept the pressure on, getting off a flurry of shots and even forcing UPJ to take some yellow cards.
• In the 77th minute, GCU finally added some insurance.
Joseph Juarez takes a free kick from the corner which deflects off of
Felix Kramper's head and finds Khan who is in position with a one-time shot on a bouncing ball from 15 yards out that evades everyone on it's way into the net.
• With 11 minutes left to play, GCU put the game away with some excellent ball movement.
Ferdinand Holdhaus took control of a loose ball in the box, he passed across to van Eif, who one-touch passed to
Leo Elder near the penalty spot and Elder with a one-timer himself scored the Lions fifth and final goal of the game.
Lion Stat Leaders
• It was a four point game for
Sander Rynning who scored two goals.
• Usually on the receiving end of GCU goals, this time
Gijs van Eif played distributor and passed out three assists.
• Noah Khan had a three-point game with a goal and an assist.
•
Leo Elder took a team-high four shots and scored.
•
Shermicah Moore played 52 minutes off the bench and scored.
•
Simon Mortensen made two saves in net.
For the Mountain Cats
• Noah Pawling scored both UPJ goals and took a game-high five shots.
• Jon-Luc Renaud provided an assist.
• George Pasko made six saves in goal.
News and Notes
•
Gijs van Eif tied a program record with three assists in a match done just two other times, most recently by Louis Silva in 2021. Heading into today's game, van Eif had six total assists in 46 career games before his three-assist outburst.
• Georgian Court remains unbeaten through their first four games for just the third time in team history, joining the 2017 and 2021 teams. The 2017 team reached five games while 2021 was unbeaten for their first 12 games.
•
Felix Kramper surpassed 1500 career minutes played.
•
Sander Rynning played in his 20th career game and recorded his first multi-goal game.
• The five goals match the Lions season high from last season when they scored five at Daemen.
Up Next
• Georgian Court will have almost a week off before their next match. They play at Queens next Saturday, Sept. 12 under the lights for a 7:30 pm kickoff.
