Oct. 13, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's soccer team went toe-to-toe with No. 1-ranked Akron for 106-plus minutes on Wednesday night at Jeffrey Field but a Zips penalty kick in double overtime abruptly dashed any hopes of an epic upset and sent the Nittany Lions to a 2-1 defeat.
Junior forward Corey Hertzog (Reading, Pa.) definitively proved once again that he is one of the most gifted offensive players in the nation, scoring his NCAA-best 12th goal of the season against an Akron defense that had surrendered just two total goals through 10 games. Junior midfielder Mackenzie Arment (Manheim, Pa.) tallied his seventh assist of 2010 on the play. Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Brendan Birmingham (West Chester, Pa.) notched a career-high six saves, including two superb stops late in regulation time.
The ending to the hard-fought, back-and-forth, evenly played contest was set in motion by an official's decision in the 107th minute. On a one-one opportunity with the Penn State goalkeeper, Darlington Nagbe was in the midst of taking the ball further wide when Birmingham aggressively came off his line to disrupt the run. After a touch by Nagbe sent the ball ahead toward the corner of the goal, Birmingham knocked him off his stride, resulting in the awarding of a penalty kick. Michael Nanchoff took it and went low, hitting a liner just past the outstretched fingertips of the 6-5 Birmingham.
Early on, Penn State quickly showed it was prepared to fiercely defend its home turf, thrilling the crowd numbering 2,856 strong by taking the lead in the sixth minute. Arment played a ball up the center of the field to Hertzog, who then cut across the face of Akron goalkeeper David Meves, beating him. Taking advantage of the open goal, Hertzog slammed in a shot from 10 yards out.
The celebration and the lead were short-lived, however, as Akron responded just over one minute later to tie the game. Running wide near midfield, Nanchoff fed a long centering pass to Nagbe, hitting him in stride. Nagbe took the ball wide left of net and put in a shot for his fourth goal of the season.
Penn State had several opportunities to take the lead before halftime, none better than two by sophomore Daniel Burnham (Boise, Idaho). Subbing into the game in the 30th minute, the speedy forward provided the Nittany Lions with a spark. After tipping a shot just wide of net at the 5:55 mark, Burnham came back again less than two minutes later with an even better chance. Receiving a pass wide from front line mate Corey Hertzog, Burnham made a run towards the end line. Squaring up, he rocketed a shot from the right of goal that hit the underside of the crossbar and fell away harmlessly.
For much of the second half, the Nittany Lions controlled possession and were the aggressor on offense. Abundant scoring chances were the result, starting six and a half minutes when, off a play started by a Matt Smallwood (Cochranville, Pa.) free kick, senior midfielder Matheus Braga (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) connected on a hard shot from near the top of the box that was on target but also directly at the Akron keeper.
Another free kick in the 65th minute opened the door for Penn State to gain a second goal and the lead. Braga sent a left-footed offering into the box where the ball bounced around uncontrolled, finally coming wide of goal to senior defender Andres Casais (Caracas, Venezuela). Connecting with the bounding ball, Casais' shot forced a diving save from Akron's Meves.
Hertzog had a chance to notch his second goal of the game with less than eight minutes remaining, but his blistering shot from the far wing was punched away by Meves. A follow-up opportunity by Mackenzie Arment was blocked and then cleared by an Akron defender.
The Zips earned two opportunities to claim the win in the closing minutes of regulation but Brendan Birmingham came up big in net for Penn State. He first denied a Kofi Sarkodie blast in the 89th minute and then, just seconds later, made a diving save of a Nanchoff shot to send the match to overtime.
Penn State had an excellent opportunity to seal the game in the first overtime, but, after taking a brilliant pass from Braga, Hertzog's shot from 12 yards away traveled just wide of net.
The Nittany Lions return to Big Ten play and to the road this weekend, traveling to Evanston, Ill. to clash with Northwestern (6-5-1, 1-1-0) on Sun., Oct. 17 at 2 p.m. ET at Lakeside Field. The Nittany Lions have dominated the series with the Wildcats, winning 21 of 26 games. In 2009, PSU drew with the No. 21 Wildcats, 1-1, in Happy Valley. Later next week, Penn State will face UMBC (5-3-2) for the first time in program history on Wed., Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. at Jeffrey Field.
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PENN STATE TO HOST 2010 BIG TEN MEN'S SOCCER TOURNAMENT
From November 11-14, Penn State will host the 2010 Big Ten Tournament at Jeffrey Field. The Nittany Lions have hosted the annual conference postseason event on three occasions, with the last coming in 2002. Call 814-865-5555 (Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-6 p.m.) to order tickets or download a ticket order form