Penn State men’s soccer lost its third game of the season 3-2 to Cornell Monday as it fell to a 2-3 record the week of its Big Ten season opener.

Throughout the game, the Nittany Lions showcased less domination and confidence over the ball than the Big Red, especially on the defensive side, as they lacked consistency and control. Cornell attempted nearly double the number of shots than Penn State, and head coach Jeff Cook is seeking improvement and increased poise from the team.

“We have to understand the game,” Cook said Monday night. “We have to play both halves. We got ourselves into some good positions with two really good goals from Morgan [Marshall] with great effort and Caden [Grabfelder] on the free kick. We had hoped to come out and play much better second half. I think that’s cost us this season. It cost us tonight.”

Despite starting the game with intense pressure from Cornell, the blue and white maintained impressive control for the opening minutes of the first half and registered attempts at goal. In the second half, though, Penn State ended up on the wrong end of the defeat at Jeffrey Field, similar to its matchup against Pitt.

“Very simply, we have to get better defensively,” Cook said. “The decisions we made defensively and how we transitioned were not really up to scratch. That showed in the transition moments that Cornell had, and to be fair to them, pretty consistently throughout the game.”

Ahead of the Nittany Lions’ next game against Michigan, Cook plans to use the Cornell loss as a lesson to restore focus at the right time with the right strategies.

“These are lessons we have to learn over the course of the season as we start Big Ten play Friday at Michigan, which will be very challenging,” Cook said. “I believe we need to show more maturity and discipline in really intense moments. I believe that took us out of our game plan, and we lost focus at the wrong moments.”

Although the team’s defense and energy have shifted inconsistently from game to game, younger members are growing, learning, and establishing vital roles on the field.

Midfielders Ben Liscum and Michael Hewes showed constant effort with notable plays made in the Nittany Lions’ outings thus far, impressing Cook and proving their value to the team. And with Freddie Bell back in the mix making a steady return to the field, Cook is eager for his progression as the season continues.

“We’re happy to have [Bell] back,” Cook said. “He’s a very talented player and really key to our play, so I’m delighted he got some minutes tonight. We couldn’t use it too much because he hasn’t really had a proper preseason, but that’s a good sign for him to come back, and he came through it really well.”

Along with Bell, Grabfelder is showing off his versatility in each position he plays on the field. With his improved effort and drive, Cook believes Grabfelder is capable of taking on a much more prominent role defensively to supplement necessary depth.

“We want to get Caden on the ball as much as we can,” Cook said. “I think he’s one of the players on our team that we think can affect the game when he was at his best and I think he did that. His crosses were very good. I just want to see that happening more frequently throughout the game… We’re going to work with him on his distribution. I think sometimes that could be a little more consistent.”

From here, the team plans to shift its focus to increased aggression and dependency on defense while relying on younger players to step up during the right moments.

“Losing three goals at home is not going to be the recipe for success long term,” Cook said.