Penn State men’s soccer (3-8-3, 0-6-3 Big Ten) beat Duquesne (9-3-2, 6-1-0 Atlantic 10 Conference) 3-1 on Wednesday night at Jeffrey Field in its Senior Day matchup and final home game of the season.

The Nittany Lions came out firing on all cylinders, putting pressure on the Dukes’ defense throughout the first half. Despite Duquesne picking up the intensity after halftime, Penn State maintained its lead and closed out its home schedule with a strong performance on Senior Day.

How it Happened

Penn State wasted no time getting its offense going, as Beckham Brown fired a shot toward the bottom left of the net, but Duquesne goalkeeper Sam Coss made the save.

The Nittany Lions quickly earned a corner kick, which led to a spectacular bicycle kick goal from Etienne Reck into the top right corner of the net. The goal came off his left foot, with Noah Forster and Grant McIntosh recording assists. Before the three-minute mark, Penn State took a 1-0 lead.

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— Penn State Men’s Soccer (@PennStateMSOC) October 28, 2026

The opening minutes continued to be action-packed, with Moritz Weber firing a shot toward the top right corner that Coss saved. Duquesne’s Jameson Michel responded with an off-target shot as the Dukes looked to get their offense going.

Both teams exchanged fouls and free kicks, but Penn State continued to apply pressure. Justin Ross shielded off a Duquesne attacker to prevent a dangerous scoring opportunity.

Brown tried to send a cross into the box, but it was blocked, resulting in another Penn State corner kick. Noah Andreas followed with a deep shot that sailed wide right in the 18th minute.

The physical play continued as Andreas committed a foul on Duquesne’s Jaxon Ervin, who was in pain following the contact. Shortly afterward, Reck had a shot blocked by the Dukes’ defense.

Duquesne’s Steel Bayer went down with an apparent injury, bringing the medical team onto the field and giving both teams a brief break.

In the 25th minute, Brown nearly doubled Penn State’s lead with a powerful left-footed shot, but Coss got his fingertips on the ball to keep it out of the net.

The Dukes responded with a shot from Ashwin Menon toward the bottom right corner, but Ross made the save to preserve Penn State’s lead.

Penn State made its first substitutions, bringing in Amadou Kone and Peter Doran for Arian Recinos and Weber. Duquesne also made changes, substituting Roni Badler and Chris Philibin for Hakon Dagur Matthiasson and Menon.

A free kick from Reck helped Penn State earn another corner as the Nittany Lions continued to create opportunities.

With nine minutes remaining in the half, Doran wreaked havoc inside the box, forcing Coss to come off his line. Doran found Joe Buckley, who buried a right-footed shot into the top left corner to give Penn State a 2-0 lead.

DORAN TO BUCKLEY. Two-goal lead.

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— Penn State Men’s Soccer (@PennStateMSOC) October 28, 2026

It marked the Nittany Lions’ first two-goal lead of the season.

With just three minutes remaining, Morgan Marshall appeared to have a promising scoring opportunity before being called offside. However, Marshall went down following contact, and the officials reviewed the play.

After review, Bayer was shown a red card for pushing Marshall in the back. The offside call was overturned, and Penn State was awarded a free kick while Duquesne was forced to play with 10 men for the rest of the match.

McIntosh stepped up to take the free kick and delivered a powerful shot into the top left corner of the net for his first goal of the season, giving Penn State a 3-0 lead on Senior Day.

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— Penn State Men’s Soccer (@PennStateMSOC) October 29, 2026

The goal also allowed Penn State to match its highest single-game goal total of the season before halftime.

Penn State entered the break with a commanding 3-0 lead after a dominant offensive performance. The Nittany Lions outshot the Dukes 10-2 and held a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks.

The second half got off to a slow start for both teams before Duquesne’s Sergios Feneridis fired a shot toward the top of the net, but Ross made the save.

The Dukes continued to apply pressure as a corner kick led to a shot from Blaize Hardy toward the top right corner, but Ross came up with another save. Jameson Michel followed with a shot that sailed wide right.

During the sequence, players from both teams went down, leading to a review. The officials called a foul on Reck, awarding Duquesne a penalty kick.

Hakon Dagur Matthiasson stepped up and buried the penalty into the top left corner, cutting Penn State’s lead to 3-1 in the 52nd minute.

The physical play continued as Duquesne’s Pepo Bravo committed a foul, awarding Penn State a free kick. Another Duquesne player went down with an injury, leading to a brief stoppage.

The Dukes brought in Roni Badler for Michel as they looked to build on their momentum.

A foul by Matthiasson gave Penn State another free kick after Arian Recinos went down and appeared to favor his left leg.

Ross came up with another important play, sliding in to secure the ball and prevent a potential one-on-one scoring opportunity for Duquesne’s Cody Da.

Penn State looked to respond offensively, but Recinos sent a shot over the net.

The teams continued to exchange fouls and free kicks before Duquesne’s Ashwin Menon fired a shot toward the bottom left corner, but Ross made the save to keep the Nittany Lions ahead by two.

In the 65th minute, Penn State made three substitutions, bringing in Brown, Weber, and Marshall for Buckley, Doran, and Kone.

Shortly afterward, Reck nearly added another goal, firing a shot directly toward Coss, who made the save with his face. Reck followed with a header off a free kick, but Coss came up with another stop.

As the match entered its final 15 minutes, Duquesne made four substitutions in an effort to get something going offensively.

The Dukes attempted to create another scoring opportunity, but were called offside as time continued to tick away.

Reck received a yellow card for unsporting behavior, giving Duquesne a free kick. The physical play continued as Ofek Sasson committed a foul on Sheridan McNish, who appeared shaken up following the contact.

The second half remained relatively quiet offensively, with both teams exchanging fouls and struggling to create quality scoring opportunities.

With two minutes remaining, Duquesne’s Luke Fiscus fired a shot off target as the Dukes continued searching for another goal.

Penn State held on to defeat Duquesne 3-1, securing its first multi-goal victory of the season and closing out its home schedule with a win on Senior Day.

Takeaways

• Penn State’s offense finally broke through. The Nittany Lions came out aggressive, scored three first-half goals, and secured their first multi-goal victory of the season.
• The Nittany Lions made Senior Day count. Penn State closed out its home schedule with a win, highlighted by Grant McIntosh scoring his first goal of the season.
• Penn State’s defense held strong despite Duquesne’s second-half pressure. Justin Ross made several important saves, and the Nittany Lions protected their lead after the Dukes converted a penalty kick.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will hit the road for a matchup against No. 11 Maryland at Ludwig Field at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, November 4, in their final Big Ten match and regular-season finale. The match will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.