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Aug. 26, 2016
PALO ALTO, Calif. - Hitting the road for the season-opener for the first time since the 2010 campaign, the Penn State men's soccer team played to a double overtime scoreless draw against defending national champion Stanford Friday, Aug. 26.
Head coach Bob Warming continued his season-opening unbeaten streak with the Nittany Lions moving to 7-0-2 under his tutelage. Furthermore, the Blue and White have not lost a season-opener since the 2007 season and holds an 8-0-1 record on opening day in the last nine years.
Stanford and Penn State open the season 0-0-1 overall, while the Cardinal are 6-1-6 on opening day at The Farm.
Penn State saw its first big opportunity of the match when senior Connor Maloney (Harrisburg, Pa.) split the defense on a pass up to freshman Pierre Reedy (Kutztown, Pa.), but the Cardinal defense blocked the shot and was able to clear the corner kick opportunity for the Blue and White in the 14th minute.
Sophomore Dayonn Harris (Milton, Ontario) found the ball just inside the 18-yard box in the 32nd minute of the match but the contest remained scoreless as the Cardinal defense blocked the shot from reaching the keeper.
Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the first half with Stanford taking seven shots compared to Penn State's two.
The Nittany Lions continued to pressure the Stanford defense, taking three-straight shots to open the second half of play. Again, the Cardinal defense remained strong in front of goalkeeper Andrew Epstein, blocking all three of the Blue and White's opportunities to find the back of the goal.
Stanford saw two scoring chances late in the second half first with a free kick outside of the 18-yard box. The shot sailed high and Penn State was able to fend off the threat. Minutes later, Marion Bryce raced down the right side of the field before taking a hard shot at the net that hit the outside of the post to keep the match scoreless with 13 minutes left to play in the match.
The contest remained scoreless through 90 minutes of regulation and the first overtime, forcing Penn State into a double overtime match in the season-opener.
Penn State peppered the net in the 106th minute with three shots all of which were kept out of reach of Epstein as the game remained scoreless in the sudden victory double overtime.
Stanford had one final chance in front of the net with a minute left, but Finney grabbed hold of the ball and cleared the area, allowing Penn State to walk away with a 0-0 double overtime tie.
The Nittany Lions continue opening weekend Sunday, Aug. 28 when it travels to Berkeley, Calif. for a match with California. Match time is slated for 6 p.m. ET and will be live on the Pac 12 Network.