Andrew Privett has been huge in Penn State men’s soccer’s offensive game this season. In fact, he’s been the underdog that the program needed.

After the Nittany Lions’ big win Sunday afternoon, the junior midfielder shot up in Penn State’s ranks and is now tied at five with Peter Mangione for most goals scored in the season so far. Privett is climbing toward holding the most assists as well with three. Of the 20 caps Penn State has so far this season, Privett’s name is tied to eight of them.

“[Privett] has had a bit of a breakout year stats-wise for himself for sure, and it’s something that he deserves,” teammate Seth Kuhn said.

Especially after the 2-1 win against Michigan, Penn State saw Privett being extremely helpful in the attacking strategy and great at opening up the opponent’s half for goal-scoring opportunities. His ability to make himself available to receive a ball was evident in the play that resulted in Privett scoring the first goal of the match after a cross from Danny Bloyou.

“I thought [Privett’s] goal was fantastic. Great strike, good buildup play,” head coach Jeff Cook said. “So, sometimes as an attacking player, you need to be patient and wait for the moment then seize it, and his finish was tremendous,”

Kuhn described Privett as a trustworthy player and noted that Privett’s ability to play defensively while still being an attacking player is incredibly important to making Penn State’s forward press work.

“As a teammate, he’s a guy that everybody respects and trusts in games like this because you can trust him off the field and then on the field, he’s just a really technically gifted player,” Kuhn said.

Despite Privett’s key role in the success of the program so far this year hasn’t been receiving as much attention as he deserves. Privett’s control of both the ball and the field worked wonders for Penn State so it could pick up the pace of play for opportunities at Michigan’s goal.

“Privett has just so much technical quality,” Cook said. “I think we’ve been encouraging him to get on the ball maybe a little further forward, which he might like to be on the ball more over the whole game. But what we’ve tried to talk to him about is what matters is getting the ball where you can hurt the opposition.”

Moving forward, it’s likely that Privett will continue to help Penn State build its attacking plays and finish them off. Watching Privett play this season has been incredibly exciting, and it’s clear that he’s a skilled player who has given the Nittany Lions lots of potential throughout their match lineups.