Aug. 16, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The new-look Nittany Lion men's soccer team debuted as a winner on Tuesday night at Jeffrey Field, knocking off Hartwick, 3-1, in its exhibition opener. Penn State, ranked No. 18 in the NSCAA preseason poll, fielded a line-up consisting of four transfers and a first-time starter at goalkeeper and was seeing game action less than one week after reporting to preseason training camp.
One of those transfers, junior Hasani Sinclair (Coral Gables, Fla.), who came to Happy Valley after two years at South Florida, shined in his first appearance as a Nittany Lion, scoring two goals. Junior Daniel Parr (Hummelstown, Pa.), who transferred in from Rutgers last season, netted another.
Continuing a trend from last year, Penn State surrendered a lead to its opponents to start the game. In the 17th minute, Hartwick struck on one of the few scoring opportunities created by either team early on. Greg Mathers found Cleyon Brown with long service from the midfield. Streaking across the face of PSU goalkeeper Micah Collins (Glen Rock, Pa.), Brown hit a shot to the far post that found net.
The Nittany Lions answered back just over eight minutes later, converting on a set piece opportunity. Senior Matt Smallwood (Cochranville, Pa.) sent a perfectly placed ball into the box off a corner kick, connecting with the head of Sinclair. His hard shot blasted past the Hawks' goalkeeper to tie the game at 1-1.
Sinclair then gave Penn State the lead for good in the 44th minute. Junior Daniel Burnham (Boise, Idaho) connected on a long pass from the midfield that skipped through the Hartwick defense. Speeding past his mark, Sinclair caught up to Burnham's ball and put it in goal with a one-time blast.
Parr put the finishing touches on the victory with style in 56th minute. Awarded a free kick from 20 yards out, Parr stepped up to take it. The junior blistered a shot that rocketed over the height of the wall and past the outstretched hands of the Hartwick goalkeeper and into net.
Penn State outshot Hartwick, 14-7, for the game and had an 8-4 advantage in corner kicks.
Junior transfers Julian Cardona (Lincoln, Neb.) (Butler), Jacob Barron (La Mirada, Calif.) (UC Davis), and Minh Vu (Tucson, Ariz.) (Pima CC) were also in the Penn State starting line-up. After 30 minutes in goal, Collins gave way to freshman Andrew Wolverton (Snellville, Ga.), who manned net for the remainder of the game.
Penn State will conclude its preseason schedule on Fri., August 19 when it hosts Towson in a 7 p.m. exhibition contest. The Nittany Lions begin the 2011 regular season the following weekend by welcoming No. 15 Ohio State, Siena, and American to Jeffrey Field for the annual Penn State Classic. On the first day of play, Sat., August 27, Ohio State will take on American (5 p.m.) to be followed by Penn State facing Siena (7 p.m.). Day two action, scheduled for Mon., August 29, will pit Ohio State versus Siena (5 p.m.) and Penn State against American (7 p.m.).
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