Penn State men’s soccer (2-2-1, 0-0 Big Ten) took care of business at home, throttling Mercyhurst (0-2-2, 0-0 NEC) on a Friday night in Happy Valley, 5-0. The Nittany Lions didn’t break the ice until the 38th minute, but the floodgates opened quickly after.

Penn State put up a season-high in goals, putting five in the back of the net for the first time since October 22, 2017, against Rutgers.

How It Happened

Penn State was awarded a free kick less than a minute in and got the ball in the box, but the shot by Davy Leavey was blocked. The Nittany Lions kept the pressure on, getting a takeaway at midfield and generating their first shot on goal, although saved quite easily by Jacob Conti.

Jalen Jackson-Tyus got the first shot of the game for Mercyhurst in the fifth minute, breaking through the Penn State defense, but was smothered by Jonathan Evans at the top of the box. Penn State continued to control play to start, but Mercyhurst got another run up the left side, only to be cut down by Leavey on a beautiful slide tackle. The Lakers got the first corner kick of the game in the tenth minute, getting a chance deep in the box that was blocked.

The game slowed down heavily over the next ten minutes, with the teams exchanging possession over the middle-third of the field. Penn State got some opportunities in deep, but couldn’t complete a centering pass. Penn State got another free kick opportunity in the 23rd minute, which they turned into their first corner kick. A mad scramble ensued on the kick, with Kai Phillip getting a shot on net before an outstanding block by a defender kept a header by Caden Grabfelder out of the net.

Mercyhurst received a 33rd-minute corner kick and used it to generate its best chance of the game so far. A loose ball found its way to Sergio Sanchez, who shot it wide. The Nittany Lions responded with their own 38th-minute corner, which did not go to waste. A loose ball off the corner was put in by Van Danielson. Grabfelder and Ben Liscum picked up assists, 1-0 Nittany Lions.

Penn State threatened for another before the end of the half, with Grabfelder putting one off the post in the 44th minute. Mercyhurst’s Jared Rimmer got a yellow card in the dying seconds, as the good guys went into the break with the lead.

Penn State came out of the half aggressive, dominating possession to start. It threatened a few times, but Mercyhurst kept it away from the keeper. After a ball deflected on top of the net, the Nittany Lions got a 53rd-minute corner kick that didn’t result in anything. They got a huge chance in the 55th minute with multiple attackers in the box, but some spectacular goalkeeping by Conti kept it out of the net.

Mercyhurst flipped the field to get some rare possession time that didn’t last long. A 57th-minute foul on the Lakers, their 14th of the game, led to another Penn State chance, this time converted by Sam Ovesen after a deflection got Conti out of position. Matthew Henderson picked up an assist on the goal that made it 2-0.

Mercyhurst got a second yellow card, this time on Sergio Sanchez, as they continued to be way too aggressive. Penn State got another corner kick in the 61st minute, but couldn’t convert. A third yellow card was assessed to Mercyhurst’s Aiden McCracken shortly after, as Penn State tried to break out of their own zone.

In the 64th minute, the Nittany Lions again put pressure on the Mercyhurst end, leading to a beautiful play by Henderson, who got his second assist of the day on a pass that fooled Conti and floated right to Morgan Marshall, who deposited it into a wide-open net.

But wait, there’s more. Just 33 seconds after the third goal, the Mercyhurst back end completely fell apart, leading to a long strike by Christian Dionne, assisted by Malick Daouda, into the net to make it 4-0, as it started to become a rout at Jeffrey Field. Mercyhurst made a change in net, going to Maksim Granic.

From there, Penn State took its foot off the gas and was content to slow the game down. A Nittany Lion header went wide of the net in the 78th minute in the slowed action, but it picked back up in the 82nd minute on another corner kick for the home team.

Another defensive breakdown in the box for Mercyhurst off the kick resulted in the fifth goal of the game for Penn State, as Matiwos Rumley knocked in a header from in close to continue the rout.

The final few minutes were spent in the open field. Despite being behind by five goals, Mercyhurst still couldn’t break through the relaxed Nittany Lions’ line. The Lakers got a fourth yellow card for their troubles in the 87th minute, and that was all she wrote.

Takeaways

• Mercyhurst has yet to score a goal this season in four matches, something that you could see was wearing on them. They committed over 20 fouls, trying badly to spring something in the open field. Penn State controlled the pace and possession all night.
• It was very dominant. Penn State lived in the Mercyhurst box and scored so fast that the scorekeepers couldn’t keep up. Shots were 17-6 Penn State, shots on goal were 9-3. They also received nine corner kicks
• Penn State managed just five goals in its first four matches. They scored four goals in less than 30 minutes on Friday and five in less than 50.
• Second clean sheet of the season for Jonathan Evans, who also shut out Stetson on August 21.

Up Next

Penn State men’s soccer heads on the road to start Big Ten play, as they visit Rutgers in Piscataway on Friday, September 12 at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus.