Penn State men’s soccer (5-4-3, 2-1-2) was dominated by Indiana (6-2-4, 2-1-3) at Jerry Yeagley Field Friday night in a 4-2 loss.

Ryan Wittenbrink was the star of the game with a goal and two assists for the Hoosiers. Joey Maher, Herbert Endeley, and Brett Bebej were the other goal-scorers for Indiana. Peter Mangione collected a goal and an assist to Liam Butts for the Nittany Lions’ only goals of the match.

How It Happened

Kris Shakes got the start back in net for the Nittany Lions after he missed last week’s game against Michigan State with an injury.

Starting XI ready to go pic.twitter.com/L2ivFx5LqV

— Penn State Men’s Soccer (@PennStateMSOC) October 14, 2022

Indiana dominated early in the game and was awarded four corner kicks in the first five minutes. The Hoosiers were able to capitalize on their fourth as Ryan Wittenbrink sent the ball to the far goal post, and Joey Maher got his head on it for the first goal of the game.

The Hoosiers kept up the offensive intensity and found themselves with a free kick right outside Penn State’s box. Wittenbrink zipped his ball to the top-left corner of the net, but it was easily gathered by Shakes.

Penn State struck back when Peter Mangione sent a ball down the field to Liam Butts. He touched the ball past a pressing Bryant Pratt and tapped the ball into a wide-open net to tie the game up in the 18th minute.

Minutes later, Indiana got revenge, as Nyk Sessock threw the ball into the Nittany Lions’ box, and Daniel Munie got his head on it, which went right to Brett Bebej, who finished it off with a header to reclaim the lead for the Hoosiers.

After a hefty amount of uneventful play, Penn State made its first substitution at the 32nd minute when Van Danielson checked in for Ben Liscum. Seconds later, Butts found himself one on one with Pratt again, but the Hoosier goalie corralled the ball before Butts could control it.

Indiana had a last-minute opportunity to increase its lead, as Pratt sent a free kick deep into Penn State’s zone, though, the Hoosiers weren’t able to get a shot off before the buzzer sounded.

The Hoosiers entered halftime leading the Nittany Lions in shots, six to one, and corners, six to zero.

Indiana started things off in the second half with a Wittenbrink penalty kick goal in the 48th minute after Matthew Henderson was called for a penalty inside the box. Wittenbrink zipped the ball to the bottom-right side as Shakes dove in the opposite direction. Shakes received a yellow card shortly after for dissenting against the ref’s call on the penalty.

Moments later, Wittenbrink had another clean shot on the goal, but Shakes deflected the ball over the net to force a corner kick. About two minutes later, Penn State had a chance to cut the deficit, as Butts entered the box and sauced a pass toward the middle to Mangione, but the Hoosiers collected the ball and punched it out of their zone.

Liscum collected Penn State’s second yellow card of the night in the 54th minute for unsportsmanlike behavior. Shortly after, Tommy Mihalic had another clean look for the Hoosiers, but it was Shakes again who came up with the save to keep the game within two.

In the 58th minute, Jack Wagoner received a yellow card for unsportsmanlike behavior as he and Mangione were battling for possession. After turning over the ball, Indiana found itself on a breakaway, but Herbert Endeley’s shot was wide of the net.

Samuel Sarver received the Hoosiers’ second yellow card of the game after tripping Andrew Privett in the open field. After that, Butts rifled a shot on goal, but it went wide of the right post. After the shot, Sean Bettenhausen rolled around in pain with an apparent ankle injury, but he was able to limp off the field with help from a Penn State coach.

At the 64th minute, Wittenbrink dribbled the ball up the left side of the field and crossed the ball to Endeley in the middle of the box. Endeley capitalized on the cross, as he used his head to extend Indiana’s lead to three.

Penn State finally got its first corner kick of the game in the 71st minute. The Nittany Lions did not capitalize, but Nate Ward fouled Cohen Weaver in the box and he was awarded a penalty kick. Mangione took the kick and sent the ball to the bottom-right corner of the net to cut Penn State’s deficit to two.

Three minutes later, Maouloune Goumballe had a wide-open look on net after a deflection off Shakes, but his shot bounced off the crossbar and out of play.

Jack Wagoner collected another yellow card in the 84th minute, as he sent a shoulder in Mangione’s back on a goal kick. With that yellow card, Wagoner was tossed from the game and the Hoosiers played the rest of the match with 10 men.

Despite the man advantage, Penn State was unable to score as it dropped this game to Indiana 4-2. The Hoosiers totaled 17 shots compared to a dismal seven shots from the Nittany Lions.

Takeaways

• Penn State looked stiff the whole game. The players didn’t seem to be on the same page, as passes weren’t on target, and even if they were, it took an extra second for the players to collect it. That, in turn, led to turnovers and Hoosier goals.
• The Hoosiers dominated, simply put. They put up 17 shots, with nine of them being on goal, as well as collecting ten corner kicks for the night. To put it in perspective, Penn State had only seven shots and four corners.
• It was good to see Kris Shakes back in net tonight. He did allow four goals, but his energy on the field was a refreshing positive on the night.

What’s Next

Penn State will travel back to Happy Valley to clash against Ohio State at 7 p.m. on Friday, October 21.