Penn State tops Penn men's soccer

Another ranked squad and, unfortunately for Penn men’s soccer, another loss.

The Red and Blue went to Penn State on Wednesday to face the No. 7 Nittany Lions and, despite numerous offensive opportunities, were unable to match the home squad’s performance, losing 6-2.

Penn State (7-0-1) struck first with a goal from senior forward Mikey Minutillo in the 10th minute to start off what would be a high-scoring match.

Penn (3-4) answered quickly though, with a goal of its own from senior forward Duke Lacroix in the 15th minute, evening out the score at one all.

“I got the ball at my feet and I saw the defenders backing off,” Lacroix said. “And they kept backing off and I just took it right at them. Next thing you know I was in the box. I took a touch and it was wide open far post.”

However, it took the defending Big Ten champions only 90 seconds to respond, with junior Brandon Savino scoring. Assisted by sophomore Connor Maloney, Savino helped his team regain the lead practically before the Quakers could finish celebrating their goal.

Penn State’s efficient distribution of the ball continued throughout the first half, and in the 33rd minute, Maloney found himself on the end of a goal himself, taking a 3-1 lead into halftime.

The barrage of scoring would not end in the second half, either. In the 50th minute, Maloney would score his second goal of the match off a through ball from junior Brian James.

Despite being down, 4-1, the Quakers showed they still had some fight left and sophomore forward Alec Neumann found the net just a minute later.

“I felt that in the second half our mentality really started to change,” Neumann said.

The team’s leading scorer on the season says this shift in mentality had a lot to do with head coach Rudy Fuller’s halftime speech.

“He was saying that it doesn’t matter who we’re playing, what their rank, what their game is, any of that,” Neumann said. “What really should determine the game is our style of play and who we are. And who we are is a team that is going to press you and we’re going to work hard and then our skill will show through, and I thought we did that in the second half.”

However, the Nittany Lions immediately squashed any hope Penn could muster when they added another goal, making it 5-2. Shortly after, Fuller subbed out junior goalkeeper Max Polkinhorne and gave fellow junior Nick Savino a chance in the net.

The score would remain at 5-2 up until the 89th minute, when Penn State would add insult to injury with a sixth and final goal.

When it comes to the box score, the scoreline is the only real distinction between the Quakers and the Nittany Lions. Penn matched Penn State’s 16 shots with 15 of its own, with each squad having 10 on goal. For Fuller, the difference maker was attitude and Penn State’s goalkeeping.

“I felt that we came out at the opening whistle tentative and the other thing is I think their goalkeeper, Andrew Wolverton, was outstanding,” Fuller said. “He had eight saves on the night and four of them were complete blank range.”

Despite the disparaging goal difference Wednesday, Fuller is optimistic in how the outcome of Penn’s play against Penn State foreshadows the rest of the season, especially as it relates to the upcoming Ivy play.

“It’s just about continuing to get better and you know despite the scoreline tonight, and there were clearly areas [where] we need to get better, I’m looking forward to these next couple weeks,” he said. “I think when we get this group believing and clicking, it can be a dynamic group.”

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