Sept. 17, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
By Matt Allibone, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- Mikey Minutillo was always supposed to be the difference maker.
After a 2013 season in which six of the Penn State men's soccer team's 13 wins came by a score of 1-0, the San Jose, Calif. native's return to the lineup after a missed season was expected to be the spark that ignited the Nittany Lions offense.
Tuesday night against Saint Francis, Minutillo was more of an explosion than a spark. The senior scored twice, once in the first half and once in the second, as Penn State rolled to a 3-0 victory over the Red Flash.
"[Scoring twice] is awesome and hopefully it's going to carry over into the next game," Minutillo said. "I just read the play on both of them, made good runs into the end of the box and got on the end of some good [passes]."
Early on, it was clear that Minutillo was locked in and focused, but whether he would end up on the stat sheet at the end of the game was not as certain.
Twice in the first half between the 27:00 mark to the 24:00 mark, Minutillo had great goal-scoring opportunites stymied by Saint Francis goalie Andrew Garcia.
"I think I should have put one of those away," Minutillo said. "If you put your head down you're never going to score. You've got to keep getting on the end of things."
With plenty of time still remaining, Minutillo continued plugging away. Less than five minutes later, the 6-foot-1 forward found himself on the receiving end of a pass from Drew Klingenberg near the left side of the box, though at angle that seemed implausible to score from.
However tricky it seemed, it wasn't too tough for Minutillo. He fired a shot by Garcia that ricocheted off the right post and into the net.
"Drew played a good ball and I just took a touch forward to eliminate the defenders," Minutillo said. "The defender might have got a touch on it [after I shot it] but it went to the back post, hit it and went in."
In the second half, it would take Minutillo less than eight minutes to turn what could have been another low scoring nail biter into an eventual rout, knocking a perfect pass from Riley Grant into the net. Brandon Savino would later add the first goal of his Nittany Lion career to put the icing on the cake.
While the second goal was a big of moment for Minutillo, who registered his first multi-goal game as a Nittany Lion, it was even bigger for Grant. The assist gave the sophomore his first collegiate point.
"The play by Riley was absolutely nothing short of remarkable," head coach Bob Warming said. "I told Riley in front of the team at halftime, `you're not in for your heading ability, you're not in because you're a great defender, you're in because you're incredible on the ball...go get the ball, do something with it every time you get.' He was unreal, I thought he was terrific tonight."
As for Minutillo, Warming credited the senior's big night to a positional adjustment made before the game.
For the most of the first five games of the season, Warming placed Minutillo at the top of the Nittany Lion offense as a forward, where his job was to post up the opposing team's center back.
Looking to better utilize his speed and athleticism by getting him into open space, the reigning Big Ten Coach of the Year moved Minutillo back to attacking midfield. Obviously, the results were splendid.
"Mikey had been so caught up - and it was my fault - about posting up at the top that it hurt his game," Warming said. "Now he came back in the midfield, got a ball, laid it off and showed up someplace else...they couldn't find him. That made a big difference in the game and in his play."
Though the goals were just Minutillo's second and third of the season, Warming dismissed the notion that the performance was a needed confidence boost for the fifth-year player.
One of the most determined players on the team, Minutillo never needed more confidence. According to Warming, he just needed a change to get him going.
"I don't think Mikey has ever lacked confidence," Warming said. "He believes in himself, I believe in him and I've believed in him ever since I had him in camp when he was 13 years old. He's a great talent."