Penn State men’s soccer (4-2-1) overcame Northwestern (2-3-2) with a 2-1 win at Jeffrey Field Friday night.

In tonight’s Mack Brady Match and the Nittany Lions’ first Big Ten matchup of the year, Penn State’s offense was too much for the Wildcats to handle. Liam Butts’ two goals and the offense’s 23 shots made the difference in tonight’s match.

How It Happened

After trading possessions for the first five minutes of the match, Tyger Evans gave the Nittany Lions their first scoring chance with a shot on the penalty dot, but the shot went just past the goal post. Just moments later, Northwestern’s Vicente Castro sent a pass that split Penn State’s defense, but Justin Weiss’ shot went too wide.

In the 12th minute of the match, Weiss got himself another opportunity and capitalized by putting the ball into the bottom left corner of the net giving the Wildcats an early lead. The Nittany Lions gave themselves a chance to tie this game up with Butts finding Andrew Privett in the box, but his shot bounced off the left post and out of play.

Despite controlling much of the offensive possessions and putting up twelve shots, Penn State heads into the locker room trailing by one goal after the first half.

With just 15 seconds into the second half, the Nittany Lions’ offense finally got one on the board with Butts sending a heater into the top right corner of the net to even this match up. Butts just could not get enough and scored his second of the night with a touch pass from Danny Bloyou.

As Penn State’s offense slowed down, Northwestern picked it up. Richie Bennett and Weiss got themselves in great scoring opportunities, but both shots went just wide of the right goal post.

With just five minutes left, Seth Kuhn turned on the jets and the dangles and found Bloyou right in front of the net, but an offsides call stopped Penn State from extending the lead.

After a last-minute effort from the Wildcats to tie it up, it was the Nittany Lions who held on and came out on top of this conference match-up.

Player Of The Game

Liam Butts | Forward

Liam Butts got things going for Penn State when it needed him most. After trailing by one with 12 shots on the net, the Nittany Lions’ offense just couldn’t get one past the keeper. Butts came in hot to start the second half by notching two goals, and he did not look back. Butts doubled his goal total tonight and now sits at four on the season.

What’s Next?

Penn State will stay home at Jeffrey Field to take on the Villanova Wildcats at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, September 21.