No joy for men's soccer in Happy Valley after Penn State shutout

Following Saturday’s tough last-minute loss to Cornell, Penn men’s soccer coach Rudy Fuller said he was glad his team could take the field just three days later.

The effort the Quakers put forth Monday night — against a Penn State team that was ranked in the top 25 last week — was just as strong as it had been a few nights before. Still, the end result was just as disappointing for the Red and Blue.

Penn gave up an early lead to the Nittany Lions and was never able to recover, falling, 2-0.

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Just five minutes into the match, Penn State junior midfielder John Gallagher lofted a ball from the 18-yard box that fellow classmate Jacob Barron slipped just past freshman keeper Max Kurtzman’s hands to put the Nittany Lions up quickly, 1-0.

The conditions of the field, especially in the goal box, were not great, which made Kurtzman’s night difficult.

“Max had the shot covered, but it took a wicked hop past him,” coach Rudy Fuller said. “It literally took a bounce right in front of him, and he couldn’t do anything about it.”

The Red and Blue (5-4-1) remained poised following the goal.

“I don’t think the goal fazed them at all,” Fuller said. “They shook the goal off pretty quickly and got right down to the business of getting it.”

In the 16th minute, the Quakers put pressure on Penn State (6-3-2), finding two scoring chances. Following a corner, freshman Duke Lacroix’s shot was saved, while junior Travis Cantrell’s went wide.

Lacroix, Penn’s leading goal-scorer on the year, had four of Penn’s five shots on goal.

“Duke did very well in getting himself involved tonight, and at least on two occasions in the first half, the keeper had to make a pretty big play,” Fuller said. “Honestly, I’d be more concerned if Duke wasn’t putting himself in those positions.”

Lacroix thought his team could have done more offensively.

“Not to take anything away from their keeper, but we definitely could’ve put more pressure on him,” the freshman said.

While the Nittany Lions’ keeper prevented Penn from getting on the scoreboard, Penn State put the game out of reach early in the second half when junior Julian Cardona headed in a cross from Gallagher, who had two assists on the night.

At the final whistle, Penn tied the Nittany Lions in both shots and shots on goal.

Despite the loss, playing a team of Penn State’s caliber helps the program improve, Fuller said.

“We want to challenge ourselves with the best schedule we can,” he said. “It allows us to recruit good players because they want the chance to play at the best teams.”

For Lacroix, the game helped place perspective on where his team stands at this point in the season.

“We’ve lost games that we felt that we should’ve won,” he said. “We’re still a team in contention. We just have to work at it.”

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