Penn State men’s soccer (0-1) was defeated 3-0 by No. 1 Clemson (1-0) in its opening match of the 2024 season.

Andrew Cooke made three saves while Clemson forward Alex Meinhard scored a brace en route to the Tigers’ dominant win over the Nittany Lions.

How It Happened

After a relatively uneventful initial eight minutes of action, Nathan Richmond was awarded a yellow card for unsporting which was promptly followed by a scoring chance from Penn State’s Caden Grabfelder. The midfielder fired a shot at the bottom corner of the net that was promptly sent away by Joseph Andema.

Following the Penn State scoring opportunity, Clemson was awarded a corner kick in the 10th minute but was unable to capitalize as Cooke cleared the ball away from the Penn State half of the field. The Tigers continued to pressure the Nittany Lions as Clemson was awarded its second corner of the game just three minutes after its first. Once again, Penn State held and avoided surrendering the opening goal.

Penn State was called for its first foul of the contest in the 19th minute, with an ensuing free kick off the foot of Jordan Gerbert. Nothing came of the immediate free kick for the Tigers, but Cooke saved a follow-up shot from Meinhard, and a second shot was blocked away. After Morgan Marshall was awarded a yellow card for unsporting, Meinhard scored in the 21st minute by deflecting a cross attempt past Cooke.

Now trailing by one and searching for the equalizer, the Nittany Lions fired a pair of shot attempts at the net, one of which was saved by Andema as the other was blocked away. Following a shot attempt off the foot of Wahabu Musah that went wide, Clemson opted for its first two substitutions of the night by bringing on Misei Yoshizawa for Musah and Tyler Trimnal for Richmond.

Penn State countered with its initial pair of substitutions in the 31st minute, calling on Sean Bettenhausen and Christian Dionne to replace Chase Oliver and Kojo Dadzie. A free kick was awarded to the Nittany Lions after a foul by Adam Lundegard but Penn State was once again unable to capitalize.

Lightning struck twice for the Tigers in the 37th minute as Penn State was awarded its second yellow card of the game, leading to a goal off the foot of Yoshizawa to put Clemson ahead by two. The midfielder took the ball himself into the penalty area and fired a shot into the top right corner past Cooke for his first goal of the season.

Following the goal and corner kick, the Nittany Lions made two more substitutions before the end of the first half. Clemson continued to apply pressure against Cooke and the Nittany Lions’ defense, with Yoshizawa nearly scoring his second goal in less than 10 minutes of game time. Fortunately for the Nittany Lions, his bid went wide of the net and Cooke fired away the subsequent goal kick.

Clemson continued to dominate play as the second half began and the Tigers fired off numerous shot attempts and controlled possession for much of the opening minutes.

Amidst the constant pressure from the Tigers, Meinhard returned to the pitch to complete the brace to put Clemson up by three goals in the 53rd minute. Following the goal, the teams traded fouls and Clemson was awarded its second yellow card of the game with Lundegard getting called for unsporting.

A third yellow card was given to Penn State during the 59th minute with Oliver getting called for unsporting. More possession dominance from the Tigers led to Cain firing a shot at Cooke which was batted out of play, giving Clemson a corner kick. This time, Penn State was able to weather the storm and clear the ball away before the Tigers could capitalize.

Dionne nearly scored the Nittany Lions’ first goal of the game in the 75th minute, but the play was called offside and upheld upon review. Shortly after the review, Ben Madore fired a shot wide of the net as the Nittany Lions finally started to get consistent pressure on the Clemson defense.

Penn State was awarded a corner kick that led to Dionne firing a shot wide of the goal with Andema firing the ball away on the ensuing goal kick. Clemson made its final four substitutions of the night in the 83rd minute as the Tigers were poised to win their first match of the year. The Nittany Lions were unable to get much of anything going and as the final whistle blew, Penn State would officially begin its season with a disheartening loss.

Takeaways

• Opening on the road is a difficult task without the caveat of playing the best team in the NCAA, but that is exactly what the Nittany Lions faced in this match. The Tigers showcased why they were anointed the top team in the country, as they controlled possession and simply dominated the game.
• To upset the number one team in the nation on the road, nearly everything has to go right for a team and you cannot make any unforced errors. This would not be the case for Penn State as the team was awarded yellow cards just before the first two Clemson goals. While the Tigers dominated much of the game, they were quick to take advantage of mistakes by the Nittany Lions when Penn State did have opportunities to advance the ball upfield.
• Replacing a program legend such as Kris Shakes is never easy, but despite the lopsided score, Cooke made a few fantastic saves in his first start of the season. Look for the goalkeeper to continue to progress as he gets more starts under his belt.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions return to Jeffrey Field for their home opener against the Army Black Knights at 5 p.m. on Sunday, August 25. The game will be streamed on BTN+.