| 3 | 0 |
| Jeffrey Field | University Park, Pa. | 692 | |
| MATCH LINKS |
Box Score |
| FINAL STATISTICS |
Sept. 16, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The 10th-ranked Nittany Lion men's soccer team used two second-half goals 78 seconds apart to pull away from Saint Francis, 3-0, on Tuesday night at Jeffrey Field. Mikey Minutillo (San Jose, Calif.) notched his first two-goal game in a Penn State uniform.
"I think Mikey Minutillo changed the game so much for us tonight," said head coach Bob Warming, who won his 50th game as Penn State chief on Tuesday. "Mikey was so caught up, and this is my fault, in posting up top that it ruined his game. Tonight he came back into the midfield a little bit and showed up in other places and they couldn't find him and I thought that made a big difference in the game."
Penn State (5-0-1, 1-0-0 Big Ten) took control 17 minutes into the contest when a flurry of activity led to three saved shots before grabbing a 1-0 lead in the 26th minute.
Minutillo took a feed by Drew Klingenberg (Gibsonia, Pa.) down the left wing and fired a shot from a few yards wide of the left post as the shot skipped past Saint Francis goalie Andrew Garcia, off the right post and in.
The Nittany Lions owned an 8-3 edge in shots in the first half, with SFU's best chance came in the 39th minute as Andrews Vega's 18-yard effort was tipped away by goalkeeper Andrew Wolverton (Atlanta, Ga.).
Wolverton picked up his 27th career shutout Tuesday night, putting him two clean sheets away from the Penn State record.
In the second half, Penn State had a renewed effort toward net and the pressure paid off in the 53rd minute as Riley Grant (Copley, Ohio) collected a long ball down the right wing. Grant drove toward the end line and laid off a perfect pass to a waiting Minutillo just eight yards from net to double the lead. Grant's assist was his first point in a Penn State jersey.
Just 1:18 later, Brian James (Sunrise, Fla.) set up a rushing Brandon Savino (Glen Ridge, N.J.) who slotted home the breakaway chance for his first Nittany Lion goal and a 3-0 lead in the 54th minute.
Penn State held off Saint Francis (3-3-0, 0-0-0 NEC) the rest of the way for the fifth shutout victory of the season. In 2014, the Nittany Lions have out-scored their opponents, 10-1.
MATCH NOTES
-- Minutillo is the second Nittany Lion to tally two goals in a single game. Connor Maloney scored twice against St. John's on Aug. 31.
-- Penn State has yet to trail this year, the Nittany Lions have scored first in all six games.
-- The three-goal margin matches the largest winning margin this season, achieved Aug. 31 against St. John's
-- Penn State improved to 11-1-0 all-time against Saint Francis
-- The Nittany Lions improved to 219-46-24 all-time against Division I teams from Pennsylvania, 2-0-0 this season. The winning percentage if .799 against Keystone State rivals and two are left on the schedule: Penn (Sept. 24) and Bucknell (Oct. 1)
-- The Nittany Lions are 5-0-1, a six-game unbeaten streak to start the year. The last time PSU started a season with six unbeaten was 2004 when PSU went 5-0-4. Prior to 2004, the 2000 squad went 7-0-0 to start the year.
-- Penn State won its 310th game all-time at Jeffrey Field, improving to 310-77-35 (.777). Penn State is 4-0-0 this season, 12-1-1 and 19-3-3 since 2012 at Jeffrey Field.
-- Bob Warming won his 50th match as Penn State head coach in his fifth season in charge. He is 50-28-11 at Penn State and 433-208-75 all-time. The Nittany Lions are 18-6-3 under his watch in the past two seasons.
NEXT MATCH
The Nittany Lions host their Big Ten home opener on Sunday against Ohio State at 1 p.m. Penn State will pay homage to Mack Brady, who lost his life at the age of eight on Dec. 31, 2012.
The Mack Brady Memorial Game will feature a pre-game tailgate at 11 a.m. next to Little Jeffrey Field as well as a t-shirt sale and raffle that will benefit the Mack Brady Memorial Fund. The fund, set up by Dean Christian Brady of the Schreyers Honors College, is to help aid scholarships for goalkeeping and education.
Mack wore No. 7 as a goalkeeper playing for the State College Celtics. Last year, over 3,000 fans came out in support to honor Mack and cheer the Nittany Lions to an inspired 1-1 draw with then-No. 5 California.