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| Jeffrey Field | University Park, Pa. | 1,942 | |
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| FINAL STATISTICS |
Sept. 21, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The 10th-ranked Nittany Lion men's soccer kept knocking on the door Sunday afternoon at Jeffrey Field, and eventually cracked the Ohio State code in a 1-0 win. Kyle MacDonald (Yardley, Pa.) scored his second career goal in the 63rd minute in front of 1,942 fans on a warm, muggy day that featured a halftime downpour.
"It's difficult to get people out when they think the weather is supposed to be bad," said head coach Bob Warming. "I was so proud of our community for coming out even on a day when it looked like it was going to be terrible. They still came out and supported us and the Brady family."
A two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and a member of the Schreyers Honors College at Penn State, MacDonald has now twice stamped his presence on the Mack Brady Game. Brady passed away Dec. 31, 2012. He was the son of Christian Brady, the dean of the Schreyers Honors College.
"The Mack Brady Game last year, Kyle McDonald scored, a Schreyer Honors College student," Warming noted. The next time he scored, was the Mack Brady Game this year, a Schreyer Honors College student, to win the game. I felt like we got a new energy out of [the rain during halftime] and that's when we got our goal."
Penn State (6-0-1, 2-0-0 Big Ten) dominated possession and shot total (22-6) for the game and it felt as though the goal was always going to come. After extended periods of time with the ball and multiple shots on goal in the opening 20 minutes of the second half, Penn State finally broke through.
Mikey Minutillo (San Jose, Calif.) collected a long ball on the left wing about 30 yards from net before playing a pass to a running Connor Maloney (Harrisburg, Pa.) just outside the penalty area.
Maloney's clever back-heeled pass went toward net as OSU's goalkeeper Alex Ivanov (10 saves) came out to stop it, but MacDonald beat him to the punch eight yards from goal, collected his touch and sent home the goal from the left post unopposed for the game winning tally.
MacDonald's only other goal prior to Sunday was the game-tying goal in 2013 against then-No. 5 California in the inaugural Mack Brady Game. For Maloney, it was his first assist of the season.
Penn State out-shot Ohio State (2-1-3, 1-1-0 Big Ten) 10-2 in the first half and 12-4 in the second. PSU's best chance to score in the opening frame was in the 42nd minute when Mark Wadid's (Missassagua, Ontario) shot-range effort caught the side netting off a cross from Brian James (Sunrise, Fla.)
In the second half, Minutillo had a 1-on-1 chance stopped by Ivanov in the 52nd minute before his 20-yard effort required a diving save from the Buckeye netminder.
Two minutes before MacDonald's goal, last year's hero for Ohio State, Danny Jensen, had a similar effort to last season's goal stopped by Andrew Wolverton (Atlanta, Ga.). Wolverton made three saves on Sunday for his 28th career shutout. Wolverton is the only Division I men's soccer goalie to not concede a goal this season and his next shutout will set a new Penn State record.
In the 69th, Drew Klingenberg (Gibsonia, Pa.) had a 21-yard shot saved to Ivanov's left before Brandon Savino (Glen Ridge, N.J.) saw his header saved on the doorstop by Ivanov.
OSU's last gasp effort came in the 88th minute on a poor clearance from a corner kick. Reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week Mason Klerks (Corona, Calif.) blocked an 18-yard shot to help preserve Penn State's fifth shutout. PSU has out-scored its opponents 11-1 this year.
MATCH NOTES
-- Both of MacDonald's goals have come during the Mack Brady Game.
-- Penn State scored first for the 7th straight game this year. The Nittany Lions have scored in all 7 games and have not trailed all season.
-- The 16-shot margin was the largest this season for Penn State. The Nittany Lions were averaging 13.8 shots per game entering Sunday.
-- Penn State improved to 17-12-3 all-time against Ohio State. The Buckeyes haven't won a game at Jeffrey Field since 2006.
-- The 6-0-1 start is the third best seven-game start for PSU in the Big Ten era. The 1999 and 2000 teams both started the year 7-0-0.
-- The Nittany Lions have yet to give up a goal at Jeffrey Field this season. PSU is 13-1-1 in its last 15 home games and 5-1-1 in the past three years in Big Ten home games. PSU is also 20-3-3 since 2012 at Jeffrey Field.
-- Penn State improved to 10-2-2 in its last 14 Big Ten regular-season matches. Penn State has defeated each of the teams that were in the league in the past three seasons.
-- PSU sits atop the Big Ten standings with 6 points (2-0-0), followed by Michigan State (1-0-0), Ohio State (1-1-0), Indiana (1-1-0) and Rutgers (1-1-0).
-- Penn State won its 311th game all-time at Jeffrey Field, improving to 311-77-35 (.778). Penn State is 5-0-0 this season, 13-1-1 since 2013 and 20-3-3 since 2012 at Jeffrey Field.
NEXT MATCH
The Nittany Lions host their third straight match when the Penn Quakers visit Happy Valley on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.