Men’s Soccer Continues Historic Start
On a chilly evening at Jeffrey Field, the Penn State men’s soccer team (10-0-1) defeated Rutgers (3-5-1) 1-0. Connor Maloney scored with 11:29 left in the second half to give Penn State its fourth win in the Big Ten on the year. The Nittany Lions are off to the best 11 match start in school history becoming the first team to go undefeated in its first 11 matches since 1972.
Penn State, who is ranked fourth in the nation, dominated the Scarlet Knights from the start. Maloney hit the post just ten seconds in, and from there, Penn State proceeded to fire shot after shot towards the Rutgers goaltender David Greczek. Penn State totaled 22 shots during the game.
“Soccer is a funny game and the big thing that I was worried about was that our backs were going to have too much fun just watching the game and lose concentration,” said head coach Bob Warming.
In a game that Penn State controlled from start to finish, the Nittany Lions did well to keep their composure and stay engaged for all 90 minutes. As per usual, the defense was solid and helped goaltender Andrew Wolverton notch his ninth win of the season. Rutgers totaled five shots in the game, all of which came during the second half as the Scarlet Knights played much better in the second frame.
Penn State’s offense, which has now scored 10 goals in the past four games, was all over the Rutgers defense for large chunks of the game, but a few miscues and close calls kept the game scoreless in the first half. However, that didn’t discourage the Nittany Lions as they came out of the half with more energy than when the game started.
“We had so many opportunities, and knowing that Rutgers was one of the best opponents we’ve played, we came out absolutely flying and that stuck around the whole game,” said Owen Griffith.
The energy was very apparent in the Penn State offensive attack, and was highlighted by Connor Maloney’s goal. Brian James floated a long pass over the head of two defenders and sprung Maloney one-on-one with the Rutgers defender. Maloney bodied the defender out of the way, and then outwaited the goaltender, pushing it by him and into the net.
“Coach has always said be a beast at all times, regardless if you’re small or not. Win the ball and do whatever it takes to win the ball and that’s what I did,” said Maloney.
After Maloney’s goal, Penn State continued to attack, creating a few more chances in the waning seconds of the game, while also limiting Rutgers to zero shots in the last five minutes.
“It was weird because they had three strikers that were pressuring our backs pretty well, and that’s just a big credit to those guys, there were a couple times they had shots and we blocked them inside and outside of the box and that’s just dedication from those guys to help us get more shutouts,” said Griffith.
Penn State has six remaining games on its slate, as they are now off to their best start in over 30 years. The Nittany Lions face a tough road test against Maryland on October 12 before hosting the Michigan State Spartans, a team of equal defensive capabilities.
“Mentally we just have to keep the fire that weve had all season and play like we don’t have the record that we do,” said Griffith.
With Penn State cemented firmly atop the Big Ten Standings, and as one of the best teams in the nation, they will certainly have a target on their backs moving forward. Penn State’s game against Michigan State on October 18 can be heard live on ComRadio.
Jack Milewski is a Freshman majoring in Broadcast Journalism. To Contact him please email jbm250@psu.edu.
