Penn State men’s soccer (1-1-0) was defeated by Missouri State (2-0-0) 3-1 at Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium in Springfield, Missouri, on Sunday night.

A goal by Luca Sowinski gave the Nittany Lions an early lead. Penn State completely collapsed, letting up three goals in less than ten minutes of game time late in the first half and coming out of halftime.

After receiving a red card and playing much of the second half with only 10 men, Penn State was unable to mount a comeback and registered its first loss of the season.

How It Happened

The Nittany Lions came out aggressive, with Sheridan McNish firing a shot in the opening minutes, forcing a tough save from Missouri State goaltender Danny Cullum.

The Bears responded with a push of their own, getting a corner kick that resulted in a blast from Daniel Souza that soared just wide of the Penn State goal.

Following a throw-in, Amadou Kone found Luca Sowinski near the Missouri State goal. His strike narrowly snuck by the reach of Cullum and into the back of the net to give Penn State a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute.

After the Nittany Lions made some substitutions, the Bears went on the counterattack, with Victor Wachowicz driving one on net following a corner kick, forcing Daniel Peluffo-Wiese to make his first save of the contest.

Missouri State remained on the offensive over the next few minutes, leading to Joseph Buckley receiving a yellow card for unsporting behavior.

Soon after, Kei Kinoshita delivered a strike in the bottom right corner of the Nittany Lion goal to tie the game at 1-1 right before the half.

The Bears kept that momentum going into the second half, with Wachowicz scoring off a corner kick to give the home team the lead under a minute after play resumed. Wachowicz received a yellow card for unsporting behavior after taunting following his goal.

Just minutes later, Peluffo-Wiese was called for a foul, giving Missouri State a penalty kick. Diego Real converted on the penalty to extend the Bears lead in the 51st minute.

Shortly after, Buckley was sent off after receiving a second yellow card, and the Nittany Lions were forced to play with 10 men for the remainder of the match.

The Bears kept up the pressure, tallying three shots over the next few minutes, with Peluffo-Wiese making one save and the other two not making it to the net.

Two yellow cards soon followed, with Souza and Nehan Hasan each receiving one. Penn State head coach Rob Dow took exception to the Hasan yellow, resulting in him being sent off and receiving a straight red card.

Alex Rodriguez and Hasan traded shots one after another, each being saved by the other team’s keeper.

With time running low, Missouri State started pulling its starters. Penn State couldn’t make anything happen late, and the Nittany Lions dropped their first game of the season in disappointing fashion.

Takeaways

• Penn State was completely outclassed offensively, getting outshot 13-6 with the Bears having six more corners.
• Despite committing less total fouls than Missouri State, the Nittany Lions received six total cards and had two ejections, making it much harder to make a second-half comeback.
• Missouri State controlled possession for much of the game, doing a great job of holding onto the lead once the Bears got it early in the second half.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will look to get back in the win column in their return to Jeffrey Field on Friday, August 28, when they’ll take on Pitt. The match is set to begin at 7 p.m., with folks being able to follow the action on BTN+.