Penn State men’s soccer (8-5-1) couldn’t recover from an own goal against the Indiana Hoosiers (9-3-1) and fell 1-0 Sunday afternoon at Jeffrey Field.

It was a windy day for soccer, and the weather impacted the play of the game. An action-packed but scoreless first half saw both the Nittany Lions and Hoosiers holding possession well and testing the skills of both keepers.

The second half went downhill for Penn State with multiple fouls and cards on the Nittany Lions, as well as an own goal that they could not recover from.

How It Happened

Out of the gates, Indiana started playing possessive soccer and showed the Nittany Lions they needed to be on top of their defensive game. Penn State started to pick up its pace of play to match the Hoosiers and began to weave its way toward goal.

Penn State ends a great run of possession with a long ball that Mangione couldn't control.

That was a beautiful sequence, and the Nittany Lions took the sting out of the ball after Indiana had been pressuring.

— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) October 17, 2021

Indiana made some great shots on goal, notably Spencer Glass’ shot in the 19th minute, but Kris Shakes made even better saves and held the goal down to deny a goal from the Hoosiers.

In the 34th minute, the Hoosiers had an open field and took the opportunity to try for a goal. Shakes was on the other side of the box, and the Nittany Lions’ defense was sparse, but Samuel Sarver shot too wide and didn’t score for the Hoosiers.

Going into the second half of the match, the wind started to pick up and both teams had a rough time trying to adjust to the wind’s impact on the ball. The Hoosiers had many attempts from multiple free kicks near the corner, but all the balls sailed over the goal.

Penn State had a rough second half, receiving three yellow cards and multiple fouls trying to push the game offensively and match the aggressive Hoosier play.

In the 74th minute, the Hoosiers got a point on the board after bouncing a high ball around in the box. Penn State’s Brandon Hackenberg headed the ball attempting to move it away from goal, but the ball bounced the other way and resulted in an Indiana goal.

The Nittany Lions weren’t able to overcome the own goal, and they lost 1-0.

Player Of The Match

Kris Shakes | Keeper

Despite the Indiana goal in the second half, Shakes played a great game and held down Penn State’s goal well. With many shots coming at Shakes from Indiana, Shakes was able to intercept the rockets sent. Working well with his defensive line, Shakes kept the box safe from attacking Hoosiers and stayed calm and collected through the offense.

What’s Next

The Nittany Lions will head away from Happy Valley and take on Ohio State at 7 p.m. on Friday, October 22. The game will be broadcast on BTN.