Penn State men’s soccer is almost back, folks. It will return to Jeffrey Field on Thursday as it looks to rebound from a disappointing 2024 season.

After coming up short in the Big Ten Championship game two years ago, the Nittany Lions took a huge step back last season as they finished last in Big Ten regular season play. Due to that, they missed the Big Ten Tournament, which ended their season earlier than anticipated. However, Penn State has been very busy in the offseason with hopes of improvement as it added a total of 10 players to this year’s squad.

With head coach Jeff Cook’s squad looking to rebound from last season’s struggles, here’s our preview of Penn State’s men’s soccer’s 2025 season.

Where The Nittany Lions Left Off Last Season

The last time we saw Penn State, it lost its regular-season finale 4-1 against Northwestern. This doomed it to finish last in the regular season standings as it finished 2-6-2 in conference play. Due to finishing in the bottom three with only seven teams making it to the Big Ten Tournament, it missed the tournament, which ended its season earlier than anticipated, just one year after being Big Ten Co-Champions in the 2023 regular season.

Offseason

In the offseason, Penn State lost more than 10 players due to graduation, entering the pros, or entering the transfer portal. Despite a rough regular season last year, some of these players were starters last season and played significant roles on this team.

Mohamed Cisset started 25 games for the Nittany Lions and played in 31 total. Scoring one goal in his two-year tenure, he was Penn State’s most important player on the back line last season. He also earned a bid to play on Team Mali for the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he appeared in its matches against Japan and Paraguay. The sophomore defender was drafted in the 3rd round of last year’s MLS SuperDraft by FC Dallas.

Goalkeeper Andrew Cooke was Penn State’s starting goalkeeper last season, and even though he struggled in net, allowing a total of 29 goals, he had 43 saves in the process and kept the Nittany Lions in games as the Nittany Lions’ defense struggled the entire season. Defender Jack Bonas started in all 14 games for the blue and white and was a key anchor in Penn State’s defense despite its struggles.

The Nittany Lions will miss the production of forward Aboubacar Camara, who led the team with five goals last season. Despite the struggles from the Nittany Lions, he was one of the bright spots on this team last season. Even though Atem Kato didn’t play a single game last season due to injury, he was a huge part of Penn State’s success in 2023. He played in 16 games in 2023 and scored one goal along with two assists. He was expected to play a huge role last season, but a severe knee injury prevented that, and his presence was certainly missed as the Nittany Lions struggled offensively last season.

A handful of other players left the Nittany Lions, the most notable being midfielder Michael Hewes, who transferred from Penn last season and only played with Penn State for one season before graduating. He scored two goals along with one assist in 14 games played and was a key player in Penn State’s midfield. Other players who left the team are Chase Oliver, Kojo Dadzie, and Sean Bettenhausen.

Key Returners

Even though a lot of players left the team, there are a lot of players that are returning to the squad this season who can make a significant impact.

Despite being drafted in last year’s MLS SuperDraft, midfielder Caden Grabfelder decided to return for his third collegiate season instead of going pro. He has played 33 games as a Nittany Lion, totaling seven goals and four assists in his time with the Nittany Lions. In his freshman year, he earned a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. It is expected that he will play a significant role on this team. Alongside him, midfielder Malick Daouda will play a bigger role after the rising sophomore earned a place on the All-Big Ten Freshman Team after starting in all 15 matches and scoring two goals in the process.

Other midfielders that are returning are Freddie Bell, Ben Liscum, and Ben Madore. Up top, Van Danielson will return for his senior year after struggling to step into a starting role after Peter Mangione’s departure in 2023.

On the defensive side, star veteran Matthew Henderson will return for his final season, who has been a huge anchor on Penn State’s defense for the last three seasons. In 48 appearances, Henderson has contributed to a lot of Penn State’s clean sheets, including seven when Penn State made the Big Ten Championship game in 2023. He has also made an impact offensively as he has scored four goals and 10 assists during his tenure with the Nittany Lions. He will look to continue being a strong anchor in the back line and could play a big leadership role on a team that is welcoming 10 new players this season.

Other defenders that will return are Conrad Brady, Morgan Marshall, and Samuel Ovesen. After the departure of goalkeeper Andrew Cooke, redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Fredrick Grundin will return as he is the likely candidate to take over as the starting goalkeeper this season. Last season, Grundin only made four appearances and took advantage of his opportunities, as he had nine saves and only allowed four goals. In the process, he helped the team win three of its five wins, including a shoutout win against St. Bonaventure.

Incoming, Noteworthy Players

Penn State has added a lot of new faces during the offseason as 10 new players join the team, which includes experienced transfers and eight freshmen.

Joining the team from England is Joe Sheridan, who played for Crystal Palace’s U18 and U20 teams for five seasons. Sheridan has appeared in 50 matches for Crystal Palace and played over 1,000 minutes at the Premier League 2 level. The freshman is 21 years old and 6-foot-6, so he is expected to play a huge role on a Penn State defense that allowed their opponents to score 32 goals last season. Another addition to the defense is Ben Nash, who most recently competed with the Vancouver Whitecaps II MLS Next Pro.

The last freshman defender joining the Nittany Lions is Matthew Eger. Eger spent over a decade developing with the Cedar Stars Academy, an MLS Next youth soccer academy in the Garden State. He helped lead his team to back-to-back MLS Next Cup Championships in 2024 and 2025. A transfer that is joining the Nittany Lions’ defense is senior Matiwos Rumley, who spent the last three seasons with Georgetown. Rumley contributed directly to six shoutouts for the Hoyas during his time there and was a four-year starter with the New England Revolution Academy.

Even though it is expected that Grundin will be the starting goalkeeper this season, he will have some competition as freshman goalkeeper Drew Mattingly will be joining Penn State’s goalkeeper room. Mattingly helped anchor Loyola Backfield to back-to-back MIAA Championships in 2023 and 2024, which is one of the top high school conferences in the country. He had a career goals-against-average of 0.69 and 18 clean sheets in 38 appearances, as he is referred to as the top goalkeeper prospect coming out of Maryland.

On the midfield side, Davy Leavey joins Penn State from Ireland, bringing 15 years of soccer experience to the team. Leavey has played for three different club teams, most recently with The Soccer Institute of Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida. He played club soccer in Ireland, and in high school he led his team to a U17 Munster Championship title. He is the only midfielder joining the Nittany Lions this season.

The Nittany Lions added four forwards during the offseason, with transfer Kai Phillip headlining the foursome. Philip is a graduate transfer from Evansville, where he scored 19 goals and had five assists over three seasons. He scored 10 goals during the 2023 season and was selected as the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament MVP last season.

Along with Phillip, Penn State added two forwards from Denmark. First recruit is Jeppe Runge, who joins the Nittany Lions after being named the best player in his U19 cup final with Naesby Boldklub. During his time in Denmark, Rugge earned a silver medal in the U17 Danish League, won the cup at both the U17 and U19 levels with Odense Boldklub, and has trained with the Denmark national team twice at the U15 and U16 levels. The other recruit from Denmark is Frederik Flaskager, who played at the top academy level in the country. During his time with Vejle Boldkub, he finished the year ranked third in scoring twice. In the U19 Boys League with Kolding, he scored 21 goals and added four assists in 64 appearances.

The last forward to join the Nittany Lions is Riley Ferraro, who is coming from Vancouver, Canada. Ferraro played at the Vancouver Whitecaps MLS Academy for six years. In the process, he was named the 2023 Player of the Year by the club and earned Player of the Week and Player of the Game honors in 2024. He also has experience in the international ranks, as he played for the U17 Canadian regional team and was named a Top 40 player for the U17 World Cup as a U16 player.