Aug. 31, 2007
Men's Soccer Drops Season Opener to Syracuse, 4-0 Nittany Lions to face No. 13 West Virginia on Sunday in Columbus, Ohio
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Penn State men's soccer team fell to Syracuse, 4-0, in its season opener at the Wolstein Soccer Classic in Columbus, Ohio on Friday evening.
"We are disappointed with the results, but the staff still believes in this team," said Penn State head coach Barry Gorman. "We just need to pick it up a notch, especially defensively."
The Nittany Lions possessed the ball for much of the game and controlled its pace but uncharacteristic defensive breakdowns proved to be their downfall.
In the first half, Penn State registered six shots but only one, by sophomore midfielder Daniel Martini (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) in the 15th minute, made it on goal. Martini totaled a team-high five shots for the game.
The Nittany Lions totaled nine shots in the second half, including six in the game's final 13 minutes, but none found net. Penn State outshot Syracuse for the game, 15-13.
"We had some good scoring chances, but it was too little, too late," said Gorman.
Syracuse's first half goals came from Spencer Schomaker and Tom Perevegyencev. Hansen Woodruff and Karol Wasielewski accounted for the Orange's second half scores.
Senior goalkeeper Conrad Taylor (Colorado Springs, Colo.), starting his 65th consecutive game in net for Penn State, recorded five saves.
The Nittany Lions will finish out play at the Wolstein Soccer Classic on Sun., Sept. 2 at 12 p.m against No. 13 West Virginia at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on the Ohio State campus. The Mountaineers fell to the host Buckeyes, 1-0, earlier Friday night.
Fans can follow the action against West Virginia with live stats and instant scoring updates on Gametracker. Click on the gametrack PSU link on Penn State's official athletic website, www.GoPSUsports.com.