The Waynesburg Men’s Soccer team’s first home game of 2025 this past Wednesday ended in celebrations all around. The team claimed its first win of the season, defeating Penn State Altoona, 7-1. Junior forward Zachary Johnson led the way with 7 points, a new program single-game record. 

Before the game, head coach Treg Lunger talked about “being super aggressive off the jump.” In the first half, Johnson started the game with a goal assisted by John Engel, followed by a penalty kick goal from junior forward Matthew Serrano to put the Yellow Jackets ahead, 2-0.

In the second half, it seemed the Yellow Jackets had a phenomenal halftime talk as they came out and dominated the competition, outsourcing PSU Altoona 5-1 in the half. 

The game couldn’t have gone better for Zachary Johnson, as he scored twice in the second half to achieve his first career hat trick, while setting the new program record with 7 points and also ensuring a victory for the Yellow Jackets. 

“I give the credit to my accomplishments made now and in the past to my parents. They have been there for me since day one,” Johnson said. “They continue to travel to all of my games to make sure I am staying on track, keeping up with my health, spiritual journey, and overall well being. Of course, I have to shout out my team because I can’t do any of the stuff I do without the guys beside me.”

While the record is great to Johnson, he knows there is more to be done.

“It really doesn’t amount to that much because we still haven’t proven what we can do as a team in the past two years I’ve been here,” Johnson said. “I would much rather see our team succeed as we did my freshman year and make the conference tournament and make a special run like I know we can. Those team records and accomplishments mean more to me than anything else.”

The future looks bright for Waynesburg, with freshman John Engel getting his name on the scoresheet twice, along with two assists.

Coach Lunger also talked about the “production of players” and Johnson was named on that list along with sophomore forward Josh Smith and senior midfielder Nick Bryan, who also had a goal in the contest in the 79th minute. 

This result is a step in the right direction for the team. After previous fixtures, they were on a two-game losing streak, with a 3-2 loss against Wooster and a 2-1 loss against Mount Union.

After the game, Smith talked about the chemistry with him and his teammates, along with the team’s plan to build on this performance.

“Our on-field chemistry was solid, thanks to the time we spend together off the field,” Smith said. “The first half was too casual and lacked intensity, which hurt our flow, but a halftime talk helped us reset. I wasn’t great with communication early on, but I locked in and connected better with the team in the second half.”

Smith knows the result will give his team confidence. 

“We know our potential; this is just a small step in a long season. We’ll take the 7-1 win and the confidence boost as we travel to Pitt-Greensburg hungry for another big result.”

The team is in action on the road against Pitt-Greensburg today at 2 p.m.