Oct. 10, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -Despite allowing just three shots in the second half, the Penn State men's soccer team could not overcome a two-goal deficit in the first half against No. 3 Akron and dropped just its second home contest of the season Wednesday night, 2-0.
The Zips ended the night with a 12-10 shot advantage and a 7-1 lead in corner kicks. A 28th-minute breakaway goal and a penalty kick conversion in the 42nd minute allowed Akron to improve its record to 8-1-2 (3-0-0 MAC), while the Nittany Lions fall to 6-4-2 (1-1-1 B1G).
Penn State resumes Big Ten play by hosting Michigan State at 3 p.m. Sunday. The Lions then wrap up their three-game homestand Oct. 17 against Bucknell.
Penn State tallied a trio of shots on goal against the Zips as Hasani Sinclair (Coral Gables, Fla.), Owen Griffith (Lewisburg, Pa.) and Marvin Ledgister (London, England) each recorded one. Goalkeeper Emmanuel Martin(Cormontreuil, France) notched three saves in the effort.
A pair of frequent scorers lifted Akron to the win. Reinaldo Brenes received a feed from Eric Stevenson near midfield and peeled away from the defense to beat Martin to his right and give the Zips the lead. Scott Caldwell then converted on a penalty kick 14 minutes later to extend the margin. The goals were the players' sixth and seventh of the season, respectively.
Sinclair used his speed to create a chance of his own in the 39th minute, taking a pass from Julian Cardonaon a counterattack and racing down the right wing before launching a shot across the goal and just wide left.
Neither team's attack threatened much in the second frame. Both squads posted a shot on goal, but the period was marked by a plethora of midfield play. John Gallagher (Pine Bush, N.Y.) sent a free kick from 30 yards out through both teams and a few feet left of the post in the 67th minute. Three minutes later Eli Dennis (Easton, Md.) put a header a touch high of the crossbar.