Penn State men’s soccer (6-1-0) beat Wisconsin (1-6-1) 1-0 Saturday at Jeffrey Field for the last home game of the season.

The game-winning goal was shot by Pierre Reedy off of a penalty kick in the last five minutes. Penn State saw great plays by Brandon Hackenberg, Danny Bloyou, and Tyger Evans.

Seniors Nicholas Rieple, Dax Hoffman, and Jose Palomeque were celebrated for Senior Day before Saturday’s match.

How It Happened

The Nittany Lions started out the game with good possession, but about seven minutes in, Wisconsin sent a few incomplete shots towards the Penn State goal, putting some unexpected pressure on the Nittany Lions.

Penn State kept trying to push the goal, attempting a few shots, but Wisconsin’s defense quickly settled every one of Penn State’s attempts.

In the 23rd minute, center back Brandon Hackenberg sent a rocket to the low right from far out, but Wisconsin’s keeper, Carter Abbot, saved the shot.

Wisconsin threatened Penn State’s goal in the 31st minute with two shots, one of which was sent by Henri Tophoven towards the high-left corner. Penn State goalie Kris Shakes had a beautiful save, however, by jumping and just ever so slightly hitting the ball away from the corner of the net.

After a few threats on the Penn State goal, the Nittany Lions were eager to add a goal to the score, so Peter Mangione rushed the ball in Wisconsin’s box. Mangione showed off his technical footwork to escape the defenders for a shot but to no avail.

Wisconsin played a surprisingly aggressive game, proving to be a physical threat for Penn State. After multiple fouls on Wisconsin, the Badgers’ Andrew Akindele was awarded a yellow card in the 37th minute.

The second half of the match went by scoreless, even though Penn State’s Tyger Evans had some runs that were intercepted by Wisconsin’s defense.

Wisconsin continued to amp up the physicality of its game, receiving two more yellow cards in the second half.

In the 76th minute, Akindele had set up for a dangerous shot on Penn State’s goal, but Shakes beautifully saved the ball yet again. The Nittany Lions used the save as an attempt to push forward and get ahead of the Badgers, but not enough numbers pushed up to meet the ball.

Wisconsin sent a long throw in down towards goal as a chance to win the game in the 85th minute. Akindele received the ball and shot, only to hit the cross bar.

In the 86th minute, Wisconsin fouled Evans in the box, giving Penn State a penalty kick. The kick was taken by Pierre Reedy, who tricked Abbot into diving right. Reedy scored the first goal of the game with the penalty kick with just under three minutes to go.

Hackenberg won the ball on the Nittany Lions’ half, found a breakthrough, and ran down the field to meet Abbot for a 1-on-1, where Abbot was given a foul in the box.

Penn State was given another shot at a penalty kick with just 22 seconds left in the match. Reedy took the kick, but Wisconsin saved the ball, keeping the score at 1-0 and running out the clock.

Player of the Match

Brandon Hackenberg | Redshirt Senior | Center Back

With less than a minute left in the match, Hackenberg found an opening to run the ball from close to Penn State’s box all the way down to meet with Wisconsin’s keeper. His run showed his versatility as a player and gave the Nittany Lions potential to win the game with two goals in just the last five minutes of the game.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will finish the regular season with an away game at 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 31 against Maryland