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| Jeffrey Field | University Park, Pa. | 606 | |
| MATCH LINKS |
| FINAL STATISTICS |
Oct. 22, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
The 12th-ranked Penn State men's soccer team was unable to end its recent skid in a 2-1 loss to West Virginia Wednesday night at Jeffrey Field. Sophomore Connor Maloney (Harrisburg, Pa.) gave PSU a 1-0 lead in the 49th minute, but WVU's Andy Bevin scored twice in an eight-minute span to give the Mountaineers the victory.
Penn State (10-3-1, 4-2-0 Big Ten) looked to end a two-game winning streak entering Wednesday's match with a flurry of offensive activity in the first half.
In the 2nd minute, The Nittany Lions' Mikey Minutillo (San Jose, Calif.) raced in behind the Mountaineer defense and was nearly taken down by the second-to-last defender only to break free and go one-on-one with netminder Lee Johnston. Minutillo cut left and fired from 17 yards out, but hit the cross bar.
PSU's pressure continued when Mark Wadid (Mississauga, Ontario) was played through and went one-on-one with Johnston, but his chipping effort clanked off the right corner upright of the goal in the 32nd minute. PSU held advantages of 8-6 and 6-0 in shots and corner kicks, respectively.
The second half, Penn State had a renewed sense of offensive urgency, which came to fruition just three minutes after the opening whistle. Kyle MacDonald (Yardley, Pa.) played a long ball out of central midfield to Maloney on the left wing. Maloney went right at his defender, cut right and ripped a right-footed shot past Johnston to the lower left side netting from the top of the penalty area.
The goal was Maloney's ninth of the season as the Nittany Lions scored for the first time in 239 minutes, 35 seconds. PSU also scored first for the first time for the 12th time in 14 matches.
Despite the goal, PSU was unable to continue its possession style of play as West Virginia exerted its physical abilities to turn the tide. In the 62nd minute, Paul Ehrenworth worked down the left wing near midfield and sent a long ball into the penalty area that was one-timed by Bevin into the left side of the goal to even the score.
All momentum went WVU's way in the ensuing minutes after that with three shots and two corner kicks coming in the next five minutes. The Mountaineers' attacking presence paid off in the 70th minute when Jad Arslan was taken down in the penalty area and the referee awarded a penalty kick.
WVU's Bevin stepped up and notched his ninth goal of the season, going right when Andrew Wolverton (Atlanta, Ga.) dove the opposite way, giving the Mountaineers a 2-1 lead.
The Nittany Lions' urgency returned and was nearly rewarded off a corner kick when Wadid's shot was blocked in the 71st minute and Drew Klingenberg's (Gibsonia, Pa.) follow up skimmed left of the goal.
PSU's next wave of attack came in similar fashion in the 86th minute as Wadid's forced a turnover deep in WVU territory, controlled the ball in the penalty area and had his shot blocked by a WVU defender. The ball fell to Minutillo who rifled a shot toward the far post, but Johnston made the save of the night on Penn State's final scoring chance.
NEXT MATCH
Penn State returns to action on Sunday when it hosts a special Sunday matinee vs. Wisconsin. The Nittany Lions will hold its annual THON Soccer Game as well as Senior Day, following the match. Kick-off is slated for 2 p.m. at Jeffrey Field for the Big Ten Network broadcast game.