Penn State Scranton Soccer Senior Captain Michael Foder Makes History in Loss 

By: Ross Turetsky, Penn State Scranton Athletics 

On a cold, rainy Saturday afternoon in the electric city, Penn State Scranton's men's soccer team fell to the visiting squad from Penn State Lehigh Valley 6-2. With the conference loss, Scranton falls to an overall record of 2-8-1, along with a conference mark of 2-7-1. Meanwhile, Lehigh Valley remains hot at 10-5-1, with an impressive 9-1-1 record in the all-important conference play as the regular season is drawing to a close and the playoffs are set to begin. 

The Lions from Lehigh Valley got on the scoreboard at the 14:16 mark of the first half on an unassisted goal from Jerod Younes to give his ball club the early 1-0 advantage. Then with just under three minutes to go before the half-time buzzer rang, Lehigh's Joel Santiago gave his team a 2-0 lead heading into the break. 

Early in the second half of play, Younes scored his second goal of the contest at the 48:47 mark to up his squad's advantage to a daunting 3-0. However, less than two minutes later, at 50:05, Scranton's stand-out senior captain Michael Foder sprinted out on a breakaway and scored unassisted to cut the deficit to 3-1, and in doing so, he set the all-time school record for most goals in a career, as the hometown campus crowd erupted in celebration of the milestone. Three minutes later, at 53:49, Bobby Shoemaker scored to take the momentum right back and give Lehigh Valley a 4-1 lead. Then at the 56:57 mark, Lehigh's Younes completed his hat trick, scoring his third goal on the day, increasing his team's lead to 5-1. Eight minutes later, Scranton's Foder would come roaring right back, this time scoring on a penalty shot for his second goal, at 64:49, to cut the deficit to just 5-2 in the contest. The game's final goal came from Lehigh's Zainab Mohamed, assisted by Jack Montesdeoca, at 74:23, to give his club the 6-2 advantage they would enjoy at the final whistle of the day.  

Scranton's senior goalkeeper Clayton Martin was solid in net, playing all 90-minutes in the contest and making a stalwart 16 saves out of the 22 shots on goal he faced during his heavy work load. Meanwhile, Lehigh Valley's goalkeeper Kenneth Dyer put forth a victorious effort in his 90-minutes between the pipes, stopping one of the three shots he faced, all coming from Scranton's Foder. 

Previously, Foders teammate, James Cole, held the record recording 20 goals over his three seasons at Penn State Scranton, setting Michael up for a target to reach.  Working throughout the season to achieve the feat, the goal seemed just out of reach with COVID protocols affecting the limited schedule. However, in his last stand on the pitch, the senior captain, dual sport student-athlete was able to connect ball and net, placing him in a record holding slot. Foder, a men's basketball starter, athletic department staff member, SAAC (Student-Athlete Adisory Committee) President & PSUAC representative, peer health mentor and psychology major will hand up his cleats for sneakers as he hits the court for the final two months of his career before graduating in December.