When Penn State scored the winning goal in its 3-2 overtime win over Penn last night, it was Kevin Sweetland - not starting goalkeeper Drew Healy - who watched the fatal header fly by.
Four minutes earlier, Healy had been sent off in a strange incident that gave new meaning to the phrase "sacrificing yourself for the team."
Penn State had a breakaway on a counterattack, putting Healy in a tenuous spot - a Lions forward bearing down on him, almost sure to score.
So he roamed out of his penalty box and took the forward down intentionally - earning him an ejection, but momentarily keeping the winning goal out of the net.
"That's one of those things where you just gotta make a decision," Healy said. "It didn't enter my head until the moment I had to make the challenge."
Referee Mario Scilipoti signaled for a free kick outside of the box despite numerous Nittany Lion appeals for a penalty. Penn blocked the kick, and Healy's risk was validated.
"He did everything right on that play," coach Rudy Fuller said. "He was aggressive, but in the end he had to make a play on the man and the ball.
"Drew did what he needed to do to keep our team in it."
Nor did Fuller take issue with the red card, which NCAA rules state should be shown to a defender if he fouls an attacker with an "obvious goal-scoring opportunity."
Healy was slightly less accommodating, perhaps knowing that he is suspended for Penn's next game - at St. Joseph's on Saturday - because of the red card.
"I don't think it was an outrageous call," he said. "That's one of the dangers you have, making a challenge out of the box."
