Penn State men’s soccer (2-6, 0-4 Big Ten) fell 4-2 to conference foe UCLA (4-1-4, 1-1-2 Big Ten) at Jeffrey Field on Monday night.

Early on, the Nittany Lions couldn’t consistently maintain possession as they tried to play long against UCLA’s high press. Lack of the ball and a few sloppy mistakes at the back put Penn State 3-0 down at the half.

Striker Etienne Reck put the Nittany Lions back in the game with two goals to cut the lead to 3-2, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Bruins.

How It Happened

The Nittany Lion attack started hot in the second minute when midfielder Morgan Marshall hit a sweet volley far post that the UCLA keeper just barely got his fingertips to.

UCLA found the back of the net first in just five minutes, after winger Finot Pie sent in a cross from the left flank. Penn State goalkeeper Daniel Peluffo-Wiese came out to claim the ball and missed it. It fell to Bruins midfielder Philip Naef on the edge of the six-yard box, who slotted it in the bottom left corner past a few Penn State defenders.

In the 14th minute, Pie almost made it two for the Bruins when he found the side netting with a near-post effort.

In the 17th minute, Toby Grant received a yellow card for unsportsmanlike conduct after a hard tackle. In response, UCLA defender Henry Jeffcott received a yellow for simulation after he fell to the ground and grabbed his neck following a slight push from Grant. UCLA challenged the call, hoping for a red for Grant, but the ref was having none of it.

A few minutes later, Nittany Lion forward Reck was taken down in the box as Grant’s cross headed toward him. Initially, it was called a foul on Penn State, but Rob Dow used a coach’s challenge. After review, the ref stood by the call on the field.

Peluffo-Wiese made a solid diving save on a long effort from Ander Marticorena that curled just inside the left post.

Penn State made a triple substitution after 30 minutes as Moritz Weber, Peter Doran, and Nehan Hasan entered the game for Amadou Kone, Grant, and Vladislav Cherny.

After a long spell of back-and-forth play, UCLA midfielder Diego Castano found the back of the net after a beautiful four-pass move from the away side to put the Bruins up 2-0.

A UCLA counterattack appeared to be stopped by a gorgeous sliding tackle from centerback Joseph Sheridan, but after the rebound, Weber caught a UCLA player on the edge of the box, and the ref awarded a penalty for the tackle. Penn State challenged the call, but the ref still gave the penalty after review.

Fullback Shakir Nixon hit a cheeky dink down the middle, and Peluffo-Wiese got a hand on it, but it wasn’t enough. It started to get ugly for the Nittany Lions, as they conceded two in four minutes.

UCLA led 3-0 at the half.

Seven minutes into the second half, play stopped for an injury to two UCLA players who were left on the ground after a scrum in the box off a long throw.

Penn State won a free kick on the top right corner of the 18-yard box. It was sent back post, and Marshall got a toe to it, but the keeper easily smothered the effort. Penn State has appeared to get some attacking momentum in the last five minutes.

Minutes later, the Nittany Lions won another free kick on the far right corner. It was a hard effort on target but fairly routine for the UCLA keeper.

Peter Doran let a shot fly from the edge of the box 17 minutes into the second half. It was straight at the keeper, though, so the midfielder had no luck.

Penn State started to get regular chances for the first time in the match.

Reck found the back of the net 24 minutes into the second half to give the Nittany Lions their first goal of the contest. It came from an incisive pass from Cherny up the middle, which Reck took past the last defender before coolly slotting past the keeper.

Peluffo-Wiese made a great save in the 30th minute, with little time to react to a first-time rocket from Allan Legaspi.

Reck got himself a brace with just under 12 minutes remaining. UCLA’s center back was caught lacking when Reck picked his pocket and calmly put it past the keeper with the outside of his boot.

Seconds later, Bruins striker Oliver Roche was in on goal but put it wide right.

Reck nearly made it a hat trick as he let a David Beckham-esque effort soar from the halfway line as he saw UCLA keeper Ryan Tiltack off his line. It hit the left side netting.

A huge save from Peluffo-Wiese off of another rocket kept Penn State’s hopes alive with five minutes to go.

As the rain came down, the Nittany Lions did whatever they could to find the equalizer in the last breaths of the match. Emotions were high from both sides at Jeffrey Field.

Reck went down on the edge of the box after a sliding challenge from the UCLA center back; after initially not giving the foul, the ref was called to review it for a potential penalty. No foul was given.

With 30 seconds left, Penn State sent their entire team into the Bruins’ half, but after a long ball that UCLA first met, a counterattack ensued, and Roche was apparently taken out by Peluffo-Wiese in the box.

The ref issued a penalty, but again went to the replay booth to review the call. The call on the field stood.

Shakir Nixon rifled his second penalty of the night into the right corner of the net.

UCLA won 4-2.

Takeaways

• The Nittany Lions struggled to keep possession and advance the ball against UCLA’s heavy high press.
• Defending in transition also challenged Penn State, as they conceded two goals from quick back-to-front moves.
• Penn State’s attack was much more prolific in the second half, but it was too little too late.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will stay home to face No. 3 Ohio State at 7 p.m. on Friday, October 2, at Jeffrey Field in the program’s White Out.

Folks can stream the game on Big Ten Plus.