Penn State Schuylkill’s men’s soccer team made program history , defeating Penn State Scranton 2–0 at Panzer Stadium to capture its first Penn State University Athletic Conference championship.
The victory earned the Lions their first berth in the USCAA Division II National Championship and completed the first soccer championship sweep in school history. Schuylkill’s women’s team won its third consecutive PSUAC title earlier that evening.
A Championship Goal Set a Year Earlier
For head coach Luke Redmond and his players, the championship fulfilled a goal set a year earlier.
After supporting the Schuylkill women’s team in the 2025 championship, several men’s players stayed with Redmond to watch Penn State New Kensington win the men’s final. Watching the trophy celebration, they made a promise: “That will be us next year.”
A year later, Schuylkill had its own trophy to celebrate.
Brown and Fries Score Early in Second Half
The Lions entered the final without PSUAC Player of the Year Tanner Kolb, who was unavailable after receiving a red card in the semifinal. Following a scoreless first half, Schuylkill struck twice in the opening five minutes of the second half.
Sean Brown opened the scoring at 45:55, finishing a pass from Gino Pompei to put the Lions ahead 1–0.
Austin Fries doubled the lead at 49:42, scoring shortly after entering the match off an assist from Michael Merianos.
Schuylkill faced another challenge when Johnny Burke received a red card at 57:39, leaving the Lions a player down for the final 32 minutes.
Goalkeeper Peyton Renninger helped protect the lead, recording eight saves to secure the shutout. It marked his second consecutive postseason match with eight saves.
Scranton finished with a 14–4 advantage in shots and a 4–2 advantage in corner kicks, but could not break through. Schuylkill committed 17 fouls, while Scranton committed 11.
Six-Game Winning Streak and Season Sweep of Scranton
The championship victory brought the Lions’ record to 14–5–2 overall, following a 7–3 conference mark, and extended their winning streak to six games. It also marked their third victory over Scranton during the season, following a 4–0 win September 26 and a 1–0 win October 24.
Scranton finished 9–7–2 and was the conference runner-up for the second consecutive year.
Brown thanked the team’s supporters, his teammates and his family, while making clear the Lions had more they wanted to accomplish.
The team was “not done yet,” Brown said, looking ahead to the national tournament.
Fries said winning the championship and making school history still felt difficult to believe, adding that he was proud of the entire team for bringing the trophy home.
Redmond Recognizes Coaches and Campus Support
Redmond credited a broad group of coaches and campus staff for helping the program reach the milestone.
He called Jonah Zias “the best assistant coach anyone could ask for” and recognized Assistant Athletic Director Owen Zimmerman for his daily support and contributions to recruiting between the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
Redmond also thanked Athletic Director Kayla Felty for supporting him throughout his tenure, trainers Kate Fullerton and Chris Yeshulis for helping athletes prepare to compete, and media specialist Liv Payne for highlighting Schuylkill’s athletes and keeping the campus community engaged.
He credited women’s soccer coaches Kaylee Berkheiser and Zoe Gannon, along with the entire women’s team, for setting a standard of success that gave the men’s program a goal to pursue.
The women’s team was there to support the men during their championship celebration, bringing the program’s journey full circle after the men watched them compete for a title the previous fall.
First USCAA National Championship Berth
The victory earned Schuylkill the PSUAC’s automatic bid to the USCAA Division II National Championship, scheduled for –, in Pittsburgh.