Aug. 29, 2011
Box Score | Penn State Classic Tournament Central
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 18 Nittany Lion men's soccer team got a goal each from two new Nittany Lions to secure a hard fought 2-0 win over American (0-1-1) on Monday night at Jeffrey Field in the finale of the 2011 Penn State Classic. With the victory and Saturday's 1-0 shutout of Siena, the Nittany Lions capture their home tournament title for the second time in three years.
Seniors Mark Fetrow (West Chester, Pa.), Matt Smallwood (Cochranville, Pa.), Justin Lee (Derwood, Md.), and Mackenzie Arment (Manheim, Pa.) were named to the 2011 Penn State Classic All-Tournament Team. Fetrow, who anchored the stout PSU back line despite suffering a laceration to his head in the second half of the Siena game, was named tournament MVP.
Juniors Julian Cardona (Lincoln, Neb.), a transfer from Butler, and Hasani Sinclair (Coral Gables, Fla), a transfer from South Florida, each scored his first goal as a Nittany Lion in the win. Freshman goalkeeper Andrew Wolverton (Snellville, Ga.) recorded his second straight shutout.
Penn State (2-0-0) came out from the opening whistle pressing on the offensive end, resulting in numerous first half scoring chances. Perhaps its best came on a thrilling play in the 19th minute. Sinclair controlled the ball in the far corner and gained an edge on his mark with his trademark speed. He then sent a cross into the box, searching for a finisher. Arment, positioned in front of the goal, leapt high to get his foot on the chest high pass and connected, sending a rocket towards goal. However, American goalkeeper Matt Makowski was able to deny Arment with a diving stab.
Junior Daniel Burnham (Boise, Idaho) made a heads up play in the 35th minute that nearly broke the scoreless tie. Subbing into the game just minutes earlier, he ran into an American passing lane deep in its own end and stole the ball. Aiming to catch the Eagle goalkeeper off guard, Burnham took one touch and fired off a quick shot from 25 yards out. His shot was on target but was stopped by another diving save from Makowski.
Junior defender Brian Forgue (Glenmoore, Pa.), pushed up on the wing from his back line position to bring even more offensive pressure, had two good looks at goal but could not convert. His best opportunity came in the 40th minute when he controlled a ball off a free kick inside the box with his back to the goal. Spinning quickly, he sent in a low liner that skipped through the AU defense but went just wide of goal.
Halftime did nothing to slow down Penn State's attack, as it again came out firing.
Cardona nearly broke through for PSU in the 63rd minute with a brilliant individual effort. Taking the ball deep down the near wing, Cardona fought through three defenders, skirted past another, and was preparing to launch a shot when he taken down from behind inside the box. However, no penalty kick was awarded and the game remained knotted at 0-0.
Eight minutes later, Cardona was rewarded for his persistence with his first goal of the season and of his Nittany Lion career. With the ball in the corner, Matt Smallwood juked past a mark and crossed a pass into the box. Finding space up close, Cardona chipped the ball off an American defender and into goal from six yards out.
The pace slowed for the next 10 minutes but then picked up again as time began to dwindle for American. With less than 30 seconds remaining, the Eagles earned a free kick deep in Penn State territory. Pulling its goalkeeper to add an extra attacker, American sent the ball into the box. Junior Minh Vu (Tucson, Ariz.), the reigning Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week, cleared it strongly, sending it far down field. As time was counted down, Sinclair sped after the ball and caught up to it, putting it into an empty net from 30 yards out as time expired.
Penn State outshot American for the game, 16-8. The Nittany Lion defense limited the Eagles to just three second half shots, holding them without an attempt for the first 33-plus minutes of the period. Penn State also had a 7-5 advantage on corner kicks.
Penn State will make its first road trip of the season this weekend when it travels to Columbus, Ohio to participate in Ohio State's Bert & Iris Wolstein Classic for the 10th consecutive year. The Nittany Lions will open play at the Buckeyes' annual home tournament on Friday, Sept. 2, facing Stetson (1-0-0) in a 5 p.m. contest. Penn State will conclude competition on Sunday, Sept. 4 when it takes on Florida International (1-0-1) at 11 a.m. All games will be played at Ohio State's Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
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