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| Jeffrey Field | University Park, Pa. | 809 | |
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| FINAL STATISTICS |
Nov. 5, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 23 Penn State men's soccer used an 81st minute strike by Mikey Minutillo (San Jose, Calif.) to defeat Akron, 1-0, on Wednesday night at Jeffrey Field. Minutillo's seventh goal of the year, and Andrew Wolverton's (Atlanta, Ga.) five saves, gave PSU its first win over the Zips in a decade.
"I'm just so proud of these guys," head coach Bob Warming said. "To bounce back from the game against Northwestern, come so close to clinching the Big Ten title and beat a talented team like Akron says a lot about the character of this team. They deserve it."
Following a first half that saw Penn State (12-4-1) dominate possession, chances, shots (6-3) and corner kicks (3-2), it was Akron (11-5-1) that pushed the pace in the second half. The Zips held advantages in shots (10-4) and corner kicks (4-0), but it was PSU who would tally the game-winning goal.
In the 81st, Brandon Savino (Glen Ridge, N.J.) and Riley Grant (Copley, Ohio) stripped the ball from an Akron player at midfield. Savino took a couple touches and sent a long ball into the corner of the penalty area for Riley.
Grant one-timed a cross to the near post as Minutillo nodded a ball over Akron goalie Jake Fenlason (four saves) into the top right corner of the net. The assist was the second of the Akron transfer's career as the Nittany Lions celebrated.
"I'm excited for Riley," Warming said. "He's worked hard and he's playing better. He's got some talent. Maybe the role we had him in today was a little bit better than what we've tried before."
The Zips would press and create several chances to equalize that required diving saves from Wolverton. In the 88th, Sean Sepe took a through ball on the right wing and launched a shot seemingly destined for the back of the net, but Wolverton dove to his right and pushed it away in impressive fashion.
Less than a minute later, Stuart Holthusen had a golden opportunity from 10 yards out on a short pass from the left wing, but Wolverton stood tall and made his fifth save of the night to earn his ninth shutout of the season. Wolverton now holds 31 clean sheets in his Penn State career.
Riley wasn't the only former Akron player to make a difference on Wednesday. Fellow sophomore Nittany Lion Brett Gravatt (Dunn Loring, Va.) started and played 84 minutes at left midfielder. The start was the first in his collegiate career and it produced three good chances in the first half.
Penn State's last win over the Zips was Sept. 19, 2004 when the Nittany Lions torched Akron, 4-0. Previously, PSU was 0-7-2 over the past nine matchups with Akron. PSU finished the regular season with 12 wins for the first time since 2001 and ended the regular season with a victory for the first time since 2007.
NEXT MATCH
Penn State will host a Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal match on Sunday at 1 p.m. against Michigan State. The match is free for all to attend.
The Nittany Lions, who tied for second in the Big Ten a point behind Maryland, lost tiebreakers with Ohio State and Northwestern.
PSU is the No. 4 seed, Michigan State is the No. 5 seed. MSU won the teams' earlier meeting, 2-0, at Jeffrey Field on Oct. 18. The winner of that match will move on to play the winner of top-seeded Maryland vs. Rutgers/Wisconsin. RU and UW play Saturday, Nov. 8 at Maryland.