Penn State men’s soccer (5-3-3, 2-0-2) easily handled Michigan State (4-5-2, 2-1-1) on Friday night at Jeffrey Field with a dominant 4-1 victory.

Peter Mangione started the Nittany Lions off with a goal in the fifth minute of action. Liam Butts followed suit and scored two straight shortly after. Van Danielson also found the back of the net for Penn State to cap off a four-goal first half. Andrew Privett was the only player with an assist, as he collected two assists for the Nittany Lions. Jack Guggemos scored the only goal for the Spartans late in the second half.

How It Happened

The Nittany Lions’ offense dominated possession to start the match. Penn State capitalized early, as Peter Mangione found the back of the lower-right corner of the net in the fifth minute. That was also Penn State’s first shot of the game.

Moments later, Femi Awodesu lofted a pass in the box to Alex Stevenson, who had a clean shot on goal. However, the pass bounced off Stevenson’s chest and into Spartan cleats.

In the 10th minute, Michigan State was granted back-to-back corners but was unable to register a shot on goal.

Nine minutes later, Mangione danced around Michigan State defenders and found Matthew Henderson, who ripped a shot just wide of the right post. The Nittany Lions quickly regained possession, and Ben Liscum threaded a shot from the left side of the field through Spartan defenders, but the ball shot off the right post and into Owen Finnerty’s mitts.

In the 22nd minute, luck finally favored the Nittany Lions, as Liam Butts used his head to send one into the top-left corner of the net in a crowded box. Just moments later, Mangione found Liscum right in front of the net, but Finnerty was able to bat it away for a Penn State corner. For its corner, it was Butts again, but this time, he found the bottom-left side of the net off a touch pass from Andrew Privett.

In the 34th minute, Butts found himself wide open in the middle of the field, and he sent a pass to the far left side of the field in front of the Penn State bench to Van Danielson, who powered a shot wide over the cross bar.

With just four minutes left of action in the first half, the Nittany Lions found the back of the net again, as Danielson snuck one into the left corner of the net. The goal was set up by Privett, who centered the ball to Danielson for his second assist of the match.

Penn State entered halftime up by four and also dominated shots over Michigan State, 9-0.

The Spartans finally registered their first shot on goal in the 54th minute, but Jack Beck’s shot sailed way over the goal.

A minute later, Privett was fouled on a pass attempt and was rolling around in pain, however, he was able to walk himself off the field and onto Penn State’s sideline. He didn’t see the field for the rest of the night.

The Spartans were able to collect back-to-back corners in the 60th minute but were unable to register a shot on either attempt.

After 15 minutes of uneventful action, Michigan State finally found the back of the net. Jack Guggemos was in the middle of the box when he fired a shot that deflected off Jalen Watson’s shinguard. The ball then landed right back in Guggemos’ feet, and he fired one past Owen Elliott’s right arm.

A few minutes later, Liscum had a chance to respond to the goal, as Penn State registered its first shot of the second half, though, his shot flew over the crossbar.

In the 80th minute, Jeremy Sharp had a chance to cut this lead in half, as he fired a shot toward the upper-right side of the goal, but Elliott jumped up and extended his arm to knock the shot off course.

Michigan State showed offensive life at the end, but it was too little to late for the Spartans, as the Nittany Lions won this won with ease, 4-1. Penn State also dominated the shot total 10-6.

Takeaways

• Penn State didn’t allow a single shot on net in the first half of play. This Michigan State team averages nearly ten shots a match, but the Nittany Lions were able to hold off any attempt until the 54th minute. The Spartans ended the game with six shots and only three shots on net.
• The Nittany Lions looked extremely comfortable tonight. They took their time to set up plays, didn’t force any unnecessary passes, and trusted each other’s calls on the defensive side of the ball. Penn State was so comfortable that it almost caused the Spartans to be uncomfortable. It was just pure domination for Penn State.
• Owen Elliott made his first start of the season tonight, as Kris Shakes sat on the sidelines with an apparent head injury. Elliott had an impressing outing in the net, as he allowed just one goal on three shots on net.

What’s Next

Penn State will travel to Bloomington for a match against Indiana at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, October 7.