Sept. 29, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State battled No. 10 Indiana through 105 minutes of scoreless play before the Hoosiers capitalized with 4:57 remaining in the second overtime period to down the 20th-ranked Nittany Lions, 1-0, at Jeffrey Field Saturday night. With the loss, Penn State falls to 6-3-1 (1-1-0 B1G) while Indiana improves to 7-2-1 (2-0-0 B1G).
Penn State continues conference play with a 7 p.m. matchup with Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., Oct. 6. The team then returns home for a three-game homestand against Akron, Michigan State and Bucknell.
After Penn State denied the potent Hoosier attack a shot through the first overtime, Indiana midfielder Harrison Petts made a move and spun to his right at the top of the box and sent a left-footed shot through the defense and into the left corner of the goal to give his team the win in the 106th minute.
Penn State led in the shot column, 12-7, while Indiana held a 9-2 corner advantage. PSU keeper Emmanuel Martin (Cormontreuil, France) stopped a pair of shots, while ending multiple Hoosier runs in the penalty area to keep the game scoreless. The Nittany Lion defense bottled up Indiana's offensive standout, Eriq Zavaleta, holding the forward to four shots and just one on goal in the waning seconds of the second half.
The Nittany Lions, spurred on by the cheers and noise from more than 3,000 fans, created multiple opportunities in the first 10 minutes of overtime. The team's attack recorded four shots, including one on goal, and the speed of Hasani Sinclair (Coral Gables, Fla.) wreaked havoc on the Hoosier back line. Penn State received a man advantage after Indiana defender Kerel Bradford was shown yellow cards while stopping Sinclair runs in the 89th and 103rd minutes.
Sinclair nearly ended the game a little over two minutes into the first overtime period, using his quickness to pull away from the Hoosier defense before barely missing a shot left of the goal from 15 yards out. Sinclair sped down the left wing minutes later, sending a pass into the box. Marvin Ledgister (London, England) couldn't get a clean shot off from 10 yards and the attempt missed the frame.
Indiana opened with a strong offensive performance in the first half. The Hoosiers recorded their first chance of the game in the 15th minute following a corner kick left of the goal. Andrew Corrado sent the corner long and to the far side of the penalty area. From there Patrick Doody found Zavaleta eight yards from the goal. Zavaleta fired a pair of shots but could not find the goal as Shane Campbell (York, Pa.) blocked the first and the second sailed wide right.
Penn State adjusted at halftime and logged a 5-2 shot advantage in the second period with help up top from Sinclair and Ledgister.