Men’s Soccer Falls To UC Berkeley 2-1 Despite Early Lead
Penn State (0-0-1) wrapped up its California road trip Sunday night against UC Berkeley. The Nittany Lions managed to start their season on the right foot with an impressive draw against No. 1 Stanford on Friday. The Bears (0-0-1) also started their season Friday night with a draw after coming from behind against St. Mary’s College, but earned a victory this time with a 2-1 overtime result over Penn State.
How It Happened
UC Berkeley had control of the game for most of the first half, but it was Penn State who opened the scoring in this game. In the seventh minute, Connor Maloney added another tally to his illustrious career total off a counter-attack find from his brother Austin.
After the goal, the Bears continued to pile on the pressure, out-shooting the Nittany Lions 10-3 through the first 45 minutes of play. Penn State goalkeeper Evan Finney wasn’t forced to make any saves despite the ten shots on goal due in large part to the defense blocking a number of UC Berkeley’s opportunities. Penn State went into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
It didn’t take long for the Bears to equalize in the second half. In the 53rd minute, a long range effort from UC Berkeley star Nick Lima skidded past Finney near post to bring the Bears level.
Finney rebounded from the goal, making two more saves before an incident in the 82nd minute. Freshman forward Simon Lekressner was ejected from the game with a red card and Evan Finney was ushered to the sideline. Arie Ammann took over in goal for the remainder of the match.
The game would go into overtime with neither side able to break the deadlock after ninety minutes, but it didn’t take long for a game winner. Nick Lima buried a wide open header to score his second goal of the game just a minute and 41 seconds into overtime to clinch victory for the Bears 2-1.
Player Of The Game
Nick Lima | Defender | Senior
Nick Lima’s brace brought UC Berkeley back from behind to earn an important early-season victory for the Bears.
What’s Next
The Nittany Lions return to Happy Valley for their home opener next weekend against James Madison. Kick-off is Friday night at 7 p.m.
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