ERIE — Once Jake Gamble feels comfortable on a soccer field, the opposition feels a bit uneasy.

The 2009 Butler graduate scored one goal as a sophomore with the Golden Tornado, 10 as a junior and 20 as a senior.

Gamble headed to Penn State-Behrend to major in business management and compiled a modest five goals and two assists as a freshman.

He broke through for 17 goals and five assists last fall, setting the school's single-season scoring record.

“Once I feel comfortable with the level of game I'm at, I can adapt and figure things out,” Gamble said. “I know where I need to be to get scoring chances. Really, that's all it is.”

The Lions have been a winning program for a long time. Dan Perritano has been the team's coach for 18 years, has produced 207 wins and winning records in 13 of the past 14 seasons.

Behrend finished 14-3-4 last season and was undefeated in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.

“Jake is a very thoughtful player in that he's thinking about positioning at all times,” Perritano said. “I don't know if I believe in the concept of a natural goal scorer in soccer, but he knows how to be in the right place at the right time.

“Jake is very organized. He's always thinking about his next move. He often gets the ball in good position to score and that's not by accident,” the coach added.

What Gamble is thinking about now is helping his team find its way into the Division III Tournament.

The Lions were derailed last fall by a penalty-kick loss to rival Medaille (N.Y.) in the AMCC Tournament title game. Gamble's freshman year ended with a 1-0 loss to Medaille in the league title game.

“Medaille went on to reach the Sweet 16 in the national tournament this past year,” Gamble said. “We feel like we've got one of the top 25 teams in the country.

“Still, we have to go out there and prove it.”

Gamble's 17 goals this year came on just 48 shots. No Behrend teammate scored more than seven goals.

Teammate Jerry Tortella holds the school's career record of 34 goals. He is graduating this year.

“If you do the math, Jake has 22 goals with two years to go,” Perritano said. “The odds are with him that he'll get that record, but he isn't worried about it. All he wants to do is win.”

Gamble said he hasn't even looked at the numbers pertaining to the school record.

“If it happens, yeah, it'd be cool, but I'm having fun here either way,” he said.

And he nearly never arrived at Behrend.

Gamble was looking at California (Pa.), Slippery Rock and Baldwin Wallace as potential suitors. He had ruled Behrend out the fall of his senior year.

“The coach and I didn't talk to each other for six months,” Gamble said. “I was having trouble making a decision in the spring and decided to go up and see the school.

“As soon as I saw the campus, I felt like I belonged there.”

Two other former Butler County players, defenders Tyler Izenas from Seneca Valley and Jack Leslie from Mars, will be sophomores on next year's team.

“We lost six seniors from last year, but I like what we have coming back and there's new talent entering the program,” Gamble said. “This is a winning system and I'm looking forward to what lies ahead.”