Sept. 2, 2012
WASHINGTON, D.C. - After claiming wins in the first three games of the season, the Penn State men's soccer team dropped a 2-1 decision to No. 21 Georgetown on the road in Washington, D.C., Sunday afternoon. The loss drops the Nittany Lions to 3-1-0, while the Hoyas improve to 4-0-0.
Penn State looks to continue its winning ways at home, where the team is 3-0-0. The Nittany Lions host West Virginia at 7 p.m. Thursday before welcoming Albany at 7 p.m. Sept. 14 and Adelphi at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 16.
Georgetown controlled the pace of the game, logging 20 shots to Penn State's eight, including a 5-4 shot-on-goal advantage. Senior Marvin Ledgister (London, England) recorded the Nittany Lions' lone goal in the second half, his first at Penn State. Senior goalkeeper Emmanuel Martin (Cormontreuil, France) stopped a trio of shots in the loss.
The Hoyas jumped out to an early lead, capitalizing on a Penn State own goal in the 25th minute. Georgetown defender Jimmy Nealis fired a shot off the right post, creating a hard rebound that ricocheted off a Penn State defender and into the net, giving the Hoyas a 1-0 lead.
The Nittany Lions evened the score seven minutes into the second half as Ledgister found the back of the net following a cross from Akil Howard (Queens, N.Y.). The assist marked the first point for Howard as a Nittany Lion.
Georgetown responded in a timely fashion as Brandon Allen took the kickoff down the field and banked a shot off the right post and into the goal, reclaiming the lead for the Hoyas in the 54th minute.
Last-minute efforts proved unfruitful for the Nittany Lions. A shot from Hasani Sinclair (Coral Gables, Fla.) in the 86th minute deflected off a Georgetown defender and Eli Dennis' (Easton, Md.) attempt missed the frame moments later, sailing high. Hoya goalkeeper Tomas Gomez ended the PSU rally with a save against Julian Cardona (Lincoln, Neb.) on a breakaway run in the 87th minute.