Penn State men’s soccer (5-4-4, 2-1-3) tied Ohio State (8-1-5, 3-1-2) 1-1 Friday evening at Jeffrey Field.

A late first-half goal scored by Liam Butts gave Penn State the advantage heading into the locker room, but the Buckeyes equalized right out of the break. Kris Shakes was solid in goal once again for the Nittany Lions keeping Ohio State to just one goal on eight shots.

How It Happened

Head coach Jeff Cook selected a strong lineup for the team’s White Out matchup against the Buckeyes, headlined by goalkeeper Kris Shakes.

Starting XI ready in white for WHITEOUT pic.twitter.com/jGhMlPTtoo

— Penn State Men’s Soccer (@PennStateMSOC) October 21, 2022

Ohio State dominated much of the possession in the early minutes of the first half. The Buckeyes put the pressure on the Nittany Lions in their own defensive zone but were unable to create any significant chances early. Penn State had its first real chance of the contest in the 13th minute when Liam Butts and Peter Mangione combined for a nice play inside the Ohio State penalty box.

A few moments later, a foul committed by the Buckeyes gave the Nittany Lions a dangerous free-kick opportunity. That was followed by a few more chances created by the Blue and White, which included a corner and the first shot on goal of the match by Ben Liscum.

Ohio State almost struck first in the 29th minute when senior midfielder Xavier Green headed a shot at Shakes that sailed wide of the net. The flow of the match was interrupted multiple times in the first half because of fouls committed by both sides. Both the Nittany Lions and the Buckeyes committed five fouls each in the opening 45 minutes.

In the 32nd minute, Penn State manufactured another nice opportunity via a cross by Andrew Privett from the set piece. Mangione headed a shot wide of Ohio State goalkeeper Keagan McLaughlin in the 40th minute. Cook’s squad put on offensive pressure late in the first half, and that pressure led to the first goal of the match in the 43rd minute. Butts dribbled past a Buckeye defender and scored the goal with help from an assist by Liscum.

Penn State came within inches of doubling its lead in the 49th minute when Van Danielson attempted to head home a service ball off a corner. A few minutes later, Ohio State found the equalizing goal when Parker Grinstead crossed a beautiful ball that Tanner Creech took advantage of and buried home. The Buckeyes’ momentum continued as Grinstead fired another shot and hit the crossbar nearly taking the lead.

In the 60th minute, Seth Kuhn delivered an extraordinary ball that crossed the face of the goal but none of his teammates could convert. The offensive heat continued when Ohio State almost scored its second goal of the half as Devyn Etling just missed the target in the 66th minute.

The back-and-forth opportunities continued a few moments later when Butts was a touch away from scoring his second of the night. Penn State responded well to the equalizing goal by the Buckeyes and held onto much of the possession following the goal.

Ohio State fouled Butts just outside the box in the 77th minute and Deylen Vellios received a yellow card. The set piece by Kuhn was a good ball in, but nobody found a head or foot on the cross and it resulted in a goal kick.

In the 81st minute, Butts was on the counterattack but was brought down from behind by Thomas Gilej, resulting in a yellow card. A few minutes later, Mangione was denied a goal by McLaughlin.

In the 83rd minute, Nittany Lion Matthew Henderson received his second yellow card and was ejected from the match leaving Penn State a man down.

Neither team was able to find the winning goal late in the second half at Jeffrey field, resulting in a draw between the Big Ten foes.

Takeaways:

• The Penn State defense was crucial in the first half for the Nittany Lions as it faced constant pressure from the Buckeyes, but kept them off the score sheet.
• Mangione and Butts were the leaders of the Penn State attack, having most of the scoring opportunities come through the duo.
• The intensity of the game was high throughout the match as both teams were fighting for the victory. The game was filled with its fair share of hard challenges and fouls.
• The two sides were evenly matched on the night, which led to an exciting back-and-forth match.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will host Rutgers at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, October 25, at Jeffrey Field. The match will be televised on the Big Ten Network.