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Oct. 11, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's soccer team snapped its three-game losing streak with a 1-0 win in a non-conference in-state match against Pittsburgh Tuesday, Oct. 11 at Jeffrey Field.
Penn State (5-6-1) put continuous pressure on the Panther (2-9-2) defense, taking 22 shots, which was its most since Oct. 13, 2015 when it took 20 shots at West Virginia. Furthermore, the Nittany Lions put 13 shots on goal, 12 of which starting keeper Mikal Outcalt saved to keep it a one-goal match. The Penn State defense kept Pitt to just one shot in the entire 90 minutes of play which is the least amount of shots given up to an opponent since it gave up five shots to Northwestern, Nov. 1, 2015.
The Blue and White had five players with multi-shot matches with senior Connor Maloney (Harrisburg, Pa.) taking a team leading eight shots, five of which landed on goal. Sophomore Dayonn Harris (Ontario, Canada) scored his third goal of the season and his first game-winner with a breakaway off a perfect pass from freshman Frankie De La Camara (Miami, Fla.). The freshman forward not only saw multiple minutes in a match for the first time donning the Blue and White but also picked up the first point of his collegiate career in 45 minutes of work.
As a team, Penn State had 13 shots on goal with C. Maloney adding five and Harris putting four on net. In goal, redshirt-junior Evan Finney (San Francisco, Calif.) earned his second shutout of the season and second win, making just one save on the night for the Nittany Lions.
Despite suffering the loss, Outcalt made 12 saves on the night to bring his season total to 68. The Panther's lone shot came from Josh Coan when he sent a loft into the hands of Finney in the first half of action.
The Nittany Lions came out strong offensively, taking 14 shots in the opening half of play against Pittsburgh which bested their tally against No. 6 Indiana on Saturday, Oct. 8.
Penn State was unable to get anything past Outcalt, but a pass from de la Camara through the middle and past the defenders left Harris wide open against the Pitt keeper. Harris used a soft touch to get the ball past the diving keeper before blasting it into the net from a mere three-yards out to give the Blue and White a 1-0 advantage heading into the locker room at the half.
The Nittany Lion defense kept the Panthers to just one shot in the first 45 minutes of action, while eight Penn State shots tested Outcalt.
The Blue and White had an opportunity to go up by two in the match when C. Maloney was fouled in the box, but Outcalt made a leaping save toward upper right corner of the net on the penalty kick to keep it a one-goal match.
Penn State did not let up pressure finding two shots in the closing minutes before taking a 1-0 victory over Pittsburgh.
The Blue and White will be back in action Saturday, Oct. 15 when the No. 19 Spartans of Michigan State come to town for a Big Ten Conference match. The match is slated to start a 7 p.m. at Jeffrey Field.