Penn State Men’s Soccer Continues Streak With Win vs. Wisconsin
Penn State opened up Big Ten play on Sunday at Jeffrey Field, riding a three game winning streak. The offense stole the show and made it four victories in a row, as the Nittany Lions took down Wisconsin 3-1.
“In the first half, we looked like a team that had no legs and no energy and (Wisconsin) was all over us,” head coach Bob Warming said. “We usually score three goals in 270 minutes, we scored in about 40 (minutes) today.”
“As a defender for me it’s always great to score three (goals) and get some pressure of us,” said senior defender Martin Seiler. “It looks like we finally figured out how to score.”
Seiler got the Nittany Lions (6-2-1) on the scoreboard first at the 9:12 mark, with a header, after the Badgers couldn’t clear a corner kick in their own zone. It was his second goal of the season.
Wisconsin (5-2-1) responded in the 32nd minute with an unassisted goal by senior forward Nick Janus.
Junior forward Jordan Tyler led the team in shots (6) and shots on goal (2). Tyler is coming off a season where he had major reconstructive knee surgery and his presence is starting to be felt more by the rest of the team.
“We all know what he’s capable of and he’s doing a great job and working hard like coach said a couple days ago,” Seiler said. “We just want him to get back to where he was. He’s a great player.”
For the rest of the first half and the majority of the second half, both offenses had their chances, but were shut out until the 78th minute.
Sophomore defender Shane Campbell found his way into the box and delivered a cross, which deflected off a Badger defender and ended up in the back of the net, giving Penn State a 2-1 lead.
“I felt like we could have had five (goals) in the second half and that’s pretty unusual,” Warming said. The Nittany Lions were outshot 16-13 on the afternoon, but landed a 6-5 advantage in shots on goal.
Penn State put the game away five minutes later after a cross from sophomore defender Randy Falk to junior defender Eli Dennis, as he came flying into the penalty area.
When asked about Falk’s cross to all but finish off the Badgers, Warming referred to it as “sick”. It was Dennis’s second goal of the year and Falk’s first assist.
Penn State now leads the all-time series record against Wisconsin improving to 15-11-2.
The Nitany Lions continue Big Ten play on Saturday when the Nittany Lions travel to take on Indiana.
“We’re sending out a signal to the other Big Ten teams. We just want to defend our title,” said Seiler.
Junior Goalkeeper Andrew Wolverton made four saves and only allowed one goal. Wolverton has allowed more than one goal only once this season.
The struggles in net for Wisconsin continued with freshman Casey Beyers. Beyers allowed three goals and had three saves on the afternoon.
The Nittany Lions will take on Saint Francis (PA) this Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. at Jeffrey Field. ComRadio will have full coverage of the game.
Ryan Stevens is a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email rvs5276@psu.edu.
