DOYLESTOWN (PA) – It was a record-setting day for junior transfer
Tom Antonucci as his three goals and one assist helped lift Delaware Valley College to a 5-2 victory over visiting Penn State Harrisburg and give the Aggies their best eight-game start in program history.
Delaware Valley, under third-year head coach Brian Kammersgaard, is now 6-2 on the season and has topped the 1998 squad's 5-2-1 start to a season. The six wins also surpasses the victory total in Kammersgaard's first two years combined (5) and, in fact, is more than what the program accumulated over the previous five years combined as the Aggies went winless for three straight seasons before Kammersgaard's arrival.
A big reason for the turnaround is Antonucci as the transfer from Rider University notched his second straight hat trick. In just eight games this season, Antonucci has 13 goals and seven assists for 33 points – all Aggie single-season records (he currently share the assists mark).
Antonucci gave Delaware Valley a 1-0 lead just 105 seconds into the game as he one-timed a beautiful feed from
Eric Devlin. However, Penn State Harrisburg (2-7) came right back and scored twice in the opening 15:30 to take a 2-1 lead. Michael Urich tied the game at the 11:01 mark and he then assisted on a goal by Danny Francis just a few moments later.
Antonucci tied the contest just 19:18 into the half as he took a pass from
Joey Ordile and blasted it past Nittany Lion goalkeeper Charlie Hyson. Fellow transfer
Garrett McKissock then scored his first goal as an Aggie off a direct kick to give Delaware Valley the lead for good at 3-2 with 14:37 remaining in the half. The wild scoring continued five minutes later as Antonucci set up Devlin for his second goal of the year.
It remained a 4-2 score until late in the contest when Antonucci completed the hat trick off an assist from
Eric Maciag. Penn State Harrisburg held advantages of 16-15 in shots and 7-5 in corners. D.J. Meisinger stopped six shots for the Aggies while Hyson was also credited with six saves at the other end.