On Friday night, Penn State men’s soccer tallied its first win of the season with a 3-2 victory over West Virginia. Flash forward to Monday, the Nittany Lions notched back-to-back wins when they defeated George Mason 3-1 on the road.

After aiming to refine its offense last week, the Nittany Lions scored three goals each against the Mountaineers and the Patriots and now sit at a 2-1-1 record amid a tough non-conference schedule.

Now that his team clinched two wins, captain Peter Mangione expressed his excitement over Penn State’s momentum and trajectory before it commences Big Ten play.

“I think we’ll just use this as a boost of confidence. We’re super proud to bounce back,” Mangione said. “When you lose a game, you can’t get too low. When you win a game, you can’t get too high. We put in a great performance, and we know can go toe-to-toe with anybody.”

Similarly, head coach Jeff Cook reiterated his belief in the team, despite its struggle to record its first wins of the season.

“I believe in our squad and our players,” Cook said. “I think we’ve got the ability in our group to play at a very high level, and we’re just getting started.”

Cook spoke about the time spent watching film and how crucial it is to find success only after discovering and understanding what went wrong.

“We spent a lot of time in the video room,” he said. “It’s a long season, but it goes quickly, so we have to really pay attention to details each and every week.”

In addition to the team’s newfound confidence in itself, no one’s belief in Penn State men’s soccer is as loyal as the Park Avenue Army‘s. The soccer-oriented student section devotedly attends every men’s and women’s soccer game at Jeffrey Field, rain or shine.

Despite the group’s unwavering allegiance to Cook, Mangione, and the rest of the Nittany Lion squad, it’s typically a little easier to root for their favorite team when it’s winning.

“Hopefully that win [on Friday] keeps them coming back and supporting us because it just helps us,” said Mangione. “When we go down goals, we find energy in them. It gives us the extra motivation to score goals and celebrate with them.”

The Nittany Lions will return to Jeffrey Field for a three-game home stretch starting at 7 p.m. on Friday, September 9, against Princeton. Then, Penn State will match up against Lehigh on Monday, September 12, followed by Wisconsin for the team’s Big Ten opener on Friday, September 16.