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| Jeffrey Field | University Park, Pa. | 2,449 | |
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FINAL STATISTICSAug. 28, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Behind the freshmen duo of Mac Curran (York, Pa.) and Austin Maloney (Harrisburg, Pa.) the No. 23 Penn State men's soccer team earned a 1-0 victory over San Francisco in its 2015 season-opener in front of 2,449 fans at Jeffrey Field Friday, Aug. 28.
"This felt like an NCAA Tournament game," stated Head Coach Bob Warming. "It was tight physically and there were a lot of chances for both teams."
The Dons tested the Penn State defense early with a shot on goal in the second minute of the contest before rattling off three corner shots in the first eight minutes. San Francisco continued to put pressure on the Nittany Lion defense, finding a second shot inside the 18-yard box in the 14th-minute.
A pass from Connor Maloney (Harrisburg, Pa.) found the foot of a breaking Riley Grant (Copley, Ohio), but a sliding defender would block the shot for the junior forward, leading to a corner kick in the 31st-minute. The opportunity proved to be the lone shot of the half for the Nittany Lions as they took a scoreless match into the locker room at halftime.
San Francisco took a slight shot advantage into the locker room, ending the period with three shots on goal, while Penn State was unable to test the USF goalkeeper in the first period.
Penn State was the first to strike in the second half with an early corner kick before Brian James (Sunrise, Fla.) worked his way around two USF defenders into the 18-yard box. The senior midfielder was unable to get a shot off as the San Francisco keeper came out of the net to grab the ball and keep the match scoreless.
Following a corner kick, the Penn State offense went on attack as a ball that bounced around the box found a wide-open Mac Curran (York, Pa.). The freshman forward placed a shot to the left of a diving Ryan Buckingham, but the junior keeper was able to make the save for the Dons.
After controlling the ball for the majority of the second half, the Nittany Lion offense found its first goal of the season in the 73rd-minute of the match. The freshmen duo of Austin Maloney (Harrisburg, Pa.) and Curran combined for their first career points in a Penn State uniform, giving Penn State the edge over the Dons. Maloney dribbled down the right side of the field before crossing the ball to a wide-open Curran. Curran grabbed control of the ball and knocked a shot into the bottom left corner past a diving Buckingham.
Senior Matt Bersano (Tempe, Ariz.) and the rest of the Penn State backline shut down San Francisco in remaining minutes, securing Bersano's first shut out of the season and a Nittany Lion victory
Penn State will conclude its opening weekend Sunday, Aug. 30 when the Navy Midshipmen come to town for a 3 p.m. match at Jeffrey Field.