Sept. 12, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Junior forward Corey Hertzog's (Reading, Pa.) perfectly placed Hail Mary game winner from 45 yards out lifted the No. 15 Nittany Lion men's soccer team to a 4-3 victory over Binghamton (0-4-0) on Sunday afternoon at Jeffrey Field in the finale of the 2010 Penn State Classic. With the win, the Lions up their record to 3-1-0.
Hertzog and freshman forward Jordan Tyler (Rochester, Mich.), who were both named to the Penn State Classic All-Tournament Team, paced a prolific Nittany Lion offense that got a total of 16 points from six different players. Hertzog netted two goals and tallied two assists to lead the Lions while Tyler notched his first career multi-goal game, netting two. Junior midfielder Matheus Braga (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) added two assists, giving him a team-high six for the season. Drew Cost (West Chester, Pa.), Mackenzie Arment (Manheim, Pa.), and Andres Casais (Caracas, Venezuela) also contributed assists.
With the score knotted at 3-3 with less than six minutes remaining in the game, Hertzog received a headed pass from Braga near midfield. Left unmarked and in open space, he astutely noticed Binghamton goalkeeper Chris Hayen moving forward off his line. Stunning everyone on the field and in attendance, Hertzog lofted a dead-on target shot that cleared under the crossbar and above the keeper's outstretched reach by inches and dropped into net. The game winner was Hertzog's third of the season and 10th of his career.
Much like it did versus Bucknell on Friday evening, the Penn State attack came out clicking, earning the Nittany Lions an early 1-0 lead. Mackenzie Arment started the play with a beautiful through ball to Hertzog, who was making a run into the box. Hertzog got off a shot from just inside the box that glanced off the crossbar but stayed in play. Positioned on the far post, Jordan Tyler won a fight with a Bearcat defender for possession of the ball and put a shot in.
Just under eight minutes later, Tyler netted his second of the day and third goal in the last two games. Senior defender Andres Casais initiated the play by dumping a pass deep into the Binghamton zone. Hertzog won a challenge for the ball and centered a pass to Tyler, who banged it home.
In the 28th minute, Binghamton got back into the game, cutting the Penn State lead in half with a goal from Luke Halberg. Adam Whitehead was credited with an assist on what was the Bearcats' first goal of the year.
Ten minutes into the second half, Penn State re-extended its advantage to two goals on Corey Hertzog's first score of the game. Matheus Braga fought hard for possession near the end line, battling through three defenders to get a piece of the ball. Getting a foot on it, he tipped it to Arment who then quickly passed it to Hertzog. From inside the box, he chipped it past the Binghamton goalkeeper, providing Penn State with a 3-1 lead.
Lapses by the Penn State defense in the span of five minutes followed, however, allowing Binghamton to get back into the game. A goal by Kyle Manscuk in the 65th minute followed by another score from Luke Halberg in the 69th minute tied the game.
Penn State pressed for the game winner over the next 15 minutes but continually came up empty until Hertzog's heroics saved the day and provided head coach Bob Warming with his first victory at Jeffrey Field.
The Nittany Lions will return to the road next weekend, traveling west for a pair of contests in the state of Colorado. On Fri., Sept. 17, Penn State will take on Air Force in a 9 p.m. ET match-up on the academy grounds in Colorado Springs. The Nittany Lions played the Falcons to a 0-0 tie in the teams' only other meeting in 1989. Penn State will then trek to the capitol of the Centennial State to clash with Denver on Sun., Sept. 19 (3 p.m. ET) for the first time in program history.