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| Jason Yeisley helped pressure the Seton Hall defense, taking two of Penn State's eight shots. |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa; November 22, 2005 - On a night marked by dipping temperatures and frigid winds, Penn State put Seton Hall's potent offense on ice, shutting out the Pirates 1-0 in a second round match-up of the NCAA Championship. The Nittany Lions advance and will host Creighton at Jeffrey Field on Sun., Nov. 27. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m. Tickets are $7 for adults and $3 for student, youth and senior citizens and will be sold at the gate beginning one hour prior to the game.
With 12 minutes remaining in the game, midfielders Jeff Chambers (Christiana, Pa.) and Brian Devlin (Philadelphia, Pa.) combined to feed senior David Walters (Hunlock Creek, Pa.) who was positioned six yards out in front of the goal. Walters bounced the ball off his chest, spun, and drilled a shot into the top left corner of the goal, ending the scoreless deadlock. His second goal of the season turned out to be the game winner. Devlin, with an assist on the play, notched his fifth point in the last three games.
Seton Hall's best chance to tie the game came with 8:32 remaining. Forward Michael Zotti took a free kick opportunity and got off a laser, but Penn State goalkeeper Conrad Taylor (Colorado Springs, Colo.) swallowed it up, sealing his fourth consecutive shutout and tenth for the year, tying the program record for shutouts in a season.
The north-to-south wind gusts created a tilted playing field. Penn State had the wind advantage in the first half and attacked with four corner kicks and more than twice as many shots on goal as Seton Hall. Pirate goalkeeper Boris Pardo made a save on the only shot he faced, tipping Markku Viitanen's (Pirkkala, Finland) header up and over the goal early in the game. Conrad Taylor also stopped the only shot he saw and at halftime the game was scoreless.
| Pirate goalkeeper Boris Pardo made a save on the only shot on goal for PSU in the first half, tipping Markku Viitanen's header up and over the goal early in the game. |
In the second half, the balance of power shifted to the Pirates until Walters broke the scoreless tie. Seton Hall outshot Penn State 8-3 and had a 9-1 advantage on corner kicks, but Taylor and the Nittany Lions defense held. Seton Hall's star midfielder Sacha Kljestan, a M.A.C. Hermann Trophy semifinalist, mustered just two shots for the game. The Pirates entered the game with the nation's third best offense but the Penn State defense rose to the challenge and handed Seton Hall its third shutout of the season.
Penn State's third round opponent, Creighton, upset No. 6 seed Duke 2-1 to set up Sunday's showdown. The Nittany Lions are the sole Big Ten representative remaining in the championship field, as Indiana lost to Notre Dame on its home field, 2-0, Tuesday evening.
For more information on Nittany Lion men's soccer, visit the official website of Penn State athletics at www.GoPSUsports.com.
Post Game audio
Head coach Barry Gorman talks about the windy conditions and credits the team for picking up the win (:58)
David Walters describes his game-winning goal (:27)
1 2 F Seton Hall (13-4-3) 0 0 0 Penn State (13-6-2) 0 1 1 SCORING SUMMARY 77:58 Penn State - David Walters (2) (Jeff Chambers, Brian Devlin) SHOTS: Seton Hall 10, Penn State 8 CORNER KICKS: Seton Hall 10, Penn State 5 FOULS: Penn State 24, Seton Hall 8 GOALKEEPING: Conrad Taylor, Penn State - 4 saves, 0 goals against; Boris Pardo, Seton Hall - 1 save, 1 goal against