Penn State men’s soccer (2-2) defeated St. Bonaventure (1-3) 4-0 at Jeffrey Field on Monday afternoon.

The Nittany Lions dominated possession from the beginning of the game and didn’t let their foot off the gas as the game went on. Penn State’s attack was very efficient as it registered nine shots on target which resulted in four goals for the team.

How It Happened

Penn State got off to a fast start as they dominated possession for the first two minutes but couldn’t create any scoring opportunities. The first chance of the game for the Nittany Lions came a minute later when Chase Oliver attempted a shot outside the box and hit the right side of the post. A foul was then called on Christian Dionne that ended the Nittany Lions’ possession.

St. Bonaventure got the first centerpiece of the game in the fifth minute when they forced a corner kick, but nothing resulted from the opportunity.

Both teams slowed down the pace of the game for three minutes, but the Nittany Lions had another scoring opportunity when Mohammed Cisset’s header was saved by St. Bonaventure’s goalkeeper Nicolas Pucci. However, in the 12th minute, Oliver grabbed possession for the Nittany Lions on a throw-in and pushed the ball into St. Bonaventure’s third before losing possession.

Michael Hewes recovered the ball from the lost possession and passed it to Christian Dionne who took a big touch before Ben Liscum blasted the ball with his left foot into the upper right-hand corner of the goal to put Penn State up 1-0.

AN ABSOLUTE ROCKET FROM LISCUM pic.twitter.com/Bo2m8IZxH8

— Penn State Men’s Soccer (@PennStateMSOC) September 2, 2024

The Bonnies got their first scoring opportunity not long after when a shot by Xavier Davidson forced Penn State’s goalkeeper Fredrick Grundin to make his first save of the game in the 19th minute. The Bonnies kept threatening Penn State’s side of the field but couldn’t create any dangerous opportunities.

Penn State ended this pressure from the Bonnies when it recovered the ball on their side of the field and went on a counterattack. However, the Nittany Lions couldn’t capitalize as Kojo Dadzie’s shot was blocked by St. Bonaventure’s defender Xavier Ehrlich. Dadzie had another opportunity two minutes later, but his shot was off target.

Both teams shared possession for the next five minutes before Ehrlich had a shot on target for the Bonnies into the top left of the net which forced Grundin to make his second save of the game and a corner kick for St. Bonaventure. The Bonnies couldn’t capitalize but were able to get another corner kick.

On this corner kick, the Bonnies managed to create another dangerous scoring chance as Gabriel Addo managed to create the space to take a shot on target, but Penn State’s defense managed to block the shot and force another corner for the Bonnies. On the third corner, Penn State’s defense stood tall and got the ball out of dangerous territory.

After the Nittany Lions made two substitutions in the 33rd minute, the Nittany Lions threatened St. Bonaventure’s third when Michael Hewes took a shot outside the box into the bottom left of the net which forced a save by Pucci. Three minutes later, the ball was played to Pucci, who made the mistake of playing the ball to Hewes.

After bringing the ball down with his left foot, Hewes did not hesitate as he saw Pucci out of his net and capitalized on Pucci’s mistake when he took a long shot with his left shot outside the box that found the back of the net to make it a two-goal advantage for the Nittany Lions in the 39th minute.

WHAT. A. STRIKE. pic.twitter.com/TdBtRBevtf

— Penn State Men’s Soccer (@PennStateMSOC) September 2, 2024

The Nittany Lions kept threatening to score another goal in the last six minutes of the game and their best chance came in the 43rd minute when Malick Dauda’s shot was saved by Pucci. The first half came to an end with the Nittany Lions having a 2-0 lead over the Bonnies.

The second half began with the Nittany Lions getting a free kick in the 48th minute on a foul by Addo. The free kick was cleared away by St. Bonaventure and led to a dangerous counterattack. With Penn State’s defense undermanned in this counter, St. Bonaventure’s Mo Tall played the ball into Daniel Halle who was unmarked but Fredick timed his run perfectly and scooped the ball from Halle to prevent a possible goal for the Bonnies.

Minutes later, the Nittany Lions’ attack was threatening the Bonnies’ defense and Dadzie was brought down inside the box, but the referee didn’t give the penalty call. As Penn State protested for a penalty, the referee went to VAR to check the possible penalty call after the ball went out of bounds. After a lengthy review, the call stood.

As both teams slowed down play and shared possession, both teams struggled to create any dangerous opportunities for the next ten minutes. However, Matthew Henderson got sloppy in Penn State’s area and lost possession of the ball which allowed the Bonnies to go on a counter. The Nittany Lions were able to get back in time to take the ball away and end the Bonnies’ possession.

Penn State kept attacking on St. Bonaventure’s side of the field as they looked for their third goal. In the 73rd minute, Ben Madore played the ball to Dionne into the attacking third and Dionne played a cross in the box for Henderson and volleyed the ball with his left foot into the net to make it a 3-0 lead for the Nittany Lions.

What a beauty pic.twitter.com/Krb1HJ8S09

— Penn State Men’s Soccer (@PennStateMSOC) September 2, 2024

However, the Nittany Lions were not satisfied and kept putting pressure on the Bonnies as they tried to score their fourth goal. Three minutes after scoring the third goal, Penn State managed to get into the final third of St. Bonaventure. After Dodzie’s shot was blocked, he managed to recover the ball and pass to Dionne. As Dionne went past the defender, he found the space to shoot the ball and found the back of the net for the Nittany Lions to make it 4-0.

Dadzie Dionne pic.twitter.com/8VHiKaCt1n

— Penn State Men’s Soccer (@PennStateMSOC) September 2, 2024

As the Nittany Lions slowed down the pace of the game by dominating possession, the Bonnies tried to threaten the final third of the Nittany Lions in order to avoid being shut out. Penn State’s defense refused to let the Bonnies create any scoring opportunities in the final 15 minutes of the game. The clock ticked down to zero and Penn State got the shutout victory by a final score of 4-0.

Takeaways

• Goalkeeper Fredrick Grundin got the start over transfer goalkeeper Andrew Cooke and did not disappoint today. He recorded three saves on the day but his critical save in the 48th minute allowed the Nittany Lions to keep a two-goal lead and allowed the team to keep their momentum as the game progressed.
• Midfielder Christian Dionne made a huge impact for the Nittany Lions as he scored one goal and had two assists. The Nittany Lions dominated offensive possession which led to players like Dionne making a significant impact in the game.
• The Nittany Lions were very efficient on goal as they had 14 shots and nine of those were on target. In the end, they managed to score four goals in those nine attempts as they threatened more than St. Bonaventure, who only had three shots on target.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will play the final game of their four-game homestand against Cornell at 7 p.m. on Monday, September 9. The game will be streamed on BTN+.