Oct. 23, 2007
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - A net-finding smash off the left foot of freshman midfielder Drew Cost (West Chester, Pa.) with 1:52 remaining in double overtime propelled the Penn State men's soccer team (5-7-3) to a 2-1 victory over Cornell (5-6-1) on a rainy Tuesday evening at Jeffrey Field. The game winner was the first goal of Cost's Nittany Lion career.
The thrilling finish marks the second time this season that Penn State has won a home game in the waning moments of the second overtime period. On Sept. 26, junior forward Jason Yeisley (Allentown, Pa.) headed in a shot with just 37 seconds left on the clock to provide the Nittany Lions with a 3-2 win versus Pennsylvania.
The game-winning play initiated on Penn State's end of the field when freshman defender Andres Casais (Caracas, Venezuela) gained possession of the ball and sent a long pass ahead into the Cornell zone. Freshman forward Treavor Gelsinger (Shady Grove, Pa.) played it off his chest near the top of the box where Cost was positioned. With control of the ball, Cost moved to his left, skirting a wall of Big Red defenders, before sending a rocket shot into the upper left of the goal from 18 yards out.
Penn State controlled time of possession and tempo from the game's outset, leading to early scoring opportunities. In the game's seventh minute, the Nittany Lions converted on one of those chances. Senior defender Stephen Reihner (Washington, Pa.), racing down the right wing, sent an arcing entry pass into the Cornell box. Awaiting the pass all alone, sophomore forward Jacobo Vera (Pamplona, Spain) timed his jump perfectly and headed it into net past Big Red goalkeeper Luca Cerretani. The goal was Vera's fourth of the season and third in the past four games.
The Nittany Lions dominated the first half on the field and in the box score, outshooting Cornell 12-3, including a 7-0 advantage in shots on goal. They held the Big Red to without a shot for the game's first 20 minutes.
The second half unfolded differently, as Cornell took the role of aggressor. That shift in momentum combined with a bit of bad luck for Penn State helped the Big Red even the game in the 65th minute. In the Nittany Lion zone, a pass deflected off of senior defender Grady Renfrow (Washington, D.C.) and bounced directly to junior defender Kevin Vieira. Unmarked, Vieira chipped a shot over the head of goalkeeper Conrad Taylor (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and into net.
Both teams had numerous opportunities to take the lead in regulation but could not convert or capitalize. Stephen Reihner perhaps saved the game for Penn State in the 78th minute by clearing a shot from Cornell's Dana Taylor that had gotten by Taylor and was rolling towards an open net. The Nittany Lions had a prime chance of their own to tally the game winner with just under two minutes remaining in regulation time when Treavor Gelsinger crossed a perfect pass through the box that skipped just past the foot of sophomore midfielder Vincent Salvatico (Chester Springs, Pa.).
The Nittany Lion attack ruled the overtime periods, recording six shots to Cornell's zero. For the game, PSU had a 25-8 shot advantage and held the Big Red to a total of just three shots on goal. Drew Cost led all players with six shots and three shots on goal.
The Big Ten's most heated rivalry will renew once again next weekend when the Nittany Lions travel to Bloomington, Ind. to battle No. 16 Indiana (9-4-2, 3-0-1) in a pivotal Big Ten match-up on Sun., Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast live from Bill Armstrong Stadium to a national television audience on the Big Ten Network. Penn State has taken three of the last four meetings with the Hoosiers, including a 1-0 regular season victory at Jeffrey Field a year ago in a game aired by the Fox Soccer Channel.