Penn State men’s soccer (9-6-1, 5-2) squeezed past No. 7 Maryland (11-3-1, 4-2-1) in overtime Tuesday night at Jeffrey Field by a final score of 3-2.

Ninety minutes wasn’t enough to decide a winner in a matchup between these two Big Ten powerhouses. In Penn State’s first overtime game of the season, the Nittany Lions emerged victorious to snap a three-game losing streak in a big way.

Penn State had noticeably more energy and determination, and was overall the better team in the second half. The Nittany Lions out-shot the Terrapins 11-2, netting three unanswered goals to improve their record and stay alive in the Big Ten race for the regular season title.

How It Happened

In a critical conference matchup, Penn State and Maryland battled from the outset, with the Terrapins stellar defensive unit dominating for most of the early minutes.

Penn State struggled to get anything fluid going on offense, while Maryland didn’t hesitate to threaten and was first team on the scoreboard to show for it.

Ben Bender found the back of the net in the 11th minute to put the Terrapins up 1-0. Bender sent a great through ball to Caden Stafford, who fed it right back to Bender who snuck it past Kris Shakes for his conference-leading seventh of the year.

Penn State’s first real opportunity came in the 23rd minute, where Andrew Privett had a loose ball that fluttered across the box, but his touch was off and the shot hit the side of the net.

The Nittany Lions found themselves in Maryland’s defensive-third for the next chunk of minutes, however couldn’t cash in on opportunities by Pierre Reedy and Alex Stevenson. And soon enough, Maryland’s lead would double.

The assist man on the Terps’ first goal, Stafford, capitalized on a midfield turnover by Adam Laundree. Stafford put the moves on Brandon Hackenberg and nutmegged Shakes for the crafty score to extend the Terrapins’ lead to 2-0 in the 30th minute.

After that, it appeared as if Penn State was just going to cut its losses and take it into the half. However, the Nittany Lions found themselves with numbers at about the 40th minute and took advantage.

Seth Kuhn set up to Daniel Bloyou, who served it to Peter Mangione and from point-blank range, Mangione did not miss. The sophomore decreased Penn State’s deficit to 2-1, breathing some life into the Nittany Lions heading into the locker room.

As the first half got into the action almost right away, the second half began very stagnant for both teams. Neither Penn State or Maryland were truly making any moves, while Maryland appeared to be managing the game a little bit with the 2-1 lead.

Still down one in desperate need of a goal, Penn State found itself with multiple opportunities on offense. None closer than the one in the 61st minute, however.

Privett sent a gorgeous cross, tight to the goal line just past the sliding foot of Mangione whose momentum took him into the goal. The ball found itself at the feet of Hackenberg, who found space in the bottom left-hand corner but the shot deflected off the back of Mangione.

After a handful of good looks at the net, Maryland’s stellar box-defense finally broke in the 71st minute as Kuhn netted the equalizer.

Maryland gave the ball away on a throw in and Mangione sent a brilliant, soft touch to the far-post for Kuhn to finish it off with the left-foot for his first goal of the season.

With the score knotted 2-2, both squads had decent looks the rest of the way, but neither could capitalize. As the regulation clock hit double-zeros, Penn State headed into the overtime period with the momentum after playing a much better second half.

In overtime, Penn State won the coin toss. The Nittany Lions had the strong wind at Jeffrey Field to their backs in their favor.

Penn State, with the momentum and the wind on its side, didn’t take long to secure the victory.

Mangione drew a foul running into the box, setting up a re-direct on the free-kick and the game-winning goal by Andrew Privett.

The game-winner from Privett ties him back up with Bender for the Big Ten’s lead in goals.

Player of the Match

Peter Mangione | Forward

Peter Mangione was all over the field for Penn State, leading the front line and wreaking havoc for Maryland all night long.

Mangione netted the first goal for the Nittany Lions and tallied the assist on the second. Additionally, the sophomore’s skills and aggressiveness helped him draw the foul that led to the third and final game-winner.

Mangione came to play, and as a result his team got the upset victory to show for it.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions cap off their regular season campaign by traveling to Madison, Wisconsin to take on the Badgers on Sunday, October 31.