UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's soccer team produced its first draw of the season, battling West Virginia through two overtime periods to a scoreless tie at home Thursday night. The contest moves the Nittany Lions to 3-1-1 and the Mountaineers to 2-2-1.
Penn State has a week off before returning to action Sept. 14 against Albany at home. The team then follows up two days later with a Sept. 16 meeting with Adelphi, also at Jeffrey Field.
"The key coming in was fitness, which allowed us to do what we did in the second half," Bob Warming, Penn State head coach, said after the 110-minute marathon. "We played well in the second half and created a lot of chances."
Sophomore goalkeeper Andrew Wolverton (Snellville, Ga.) recorded four saves in the contest, his first start of the season, including one in the second extra period to keep the Nittany Lions in play. The teams finished neck-and-neck in shots with 13 apiece. The Mountaineers held the advantage in corners, 7-3. Both Nittany Lion shots on goal came in the second period.
The Nittany Lions created their first promising chance in the 22nd minute after Shane Campbell (York, Pa.) drew a foul two yards to the right of the penalty area. John Gallagher's (Pine Bush, N.Y.) free kick and Owen Griffith's (Lewisburg, Pa.) following shot were both deflected by the Mountaineer defense, keeping the game even.
Penn State turned up the offensive pressure near the end of the second half, recording four shots in the final 10 minutes. Julian Cardona (Lincoln, Neb.) sped down the left wing past the Mountaineer defense in the 81st minute, forcing WVU goalkeeper Pat Eavenson to meet the PSU forward and make a play on the ball to end the scoring chance. Griffith followed with a header in the 83rd minute off Gallagher's corner, but couldn't keep the shot down and sailed it just over the crossbar.
The Lions played to the whistle as freshman Drew Klingenberg (Gibsonia, Pa.) maneuvered around a WVU defender and fed a pass to classmate Kelton Cheney (State College, Pa.) in the penalty area, but Cheney pushed the ball right of the net with 30 seconds remaining in the half.
West Virginia carried possession through the majority of the two overtime periods, but neither team found a rhythm and the extra 20 minutes played out much like the first 90 minutes. The Mountaineers recorded the lone shot on goal of the overtime periods with two minutes remaining as WVU's Craig Stephens headed a long throw-in toward the goal and into the hands of Wolverton.