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Oct. 21, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's soccer team picked up its fourth Big Ten Conference victory with a 3-2 double overtime win over Rutgers University Friday, Oct. 21 at Jeffrey Field.
The Nittany Lions (7-6-2, 4-3-0) played their third-straight double overtime match, marking the first time since the 2013 season that they have played three-straight double overtime matches. Furthermore, the Blue and White played its eighth overtime match of 2016, which ties the most since the 2005 campaign and is the third-highest in program history.
Junior Aymar Sigue (Alberta, Canada) scored his third goal of the season and second game-winner for Penn State with two minutes remaining in the double overtime period to lift the Nittany Lions to their seventh victory of the season. Freshman Frankie De La Camara (Miami, Fla.) netted his first career goal donning the Blue and White, while senior Connor Maloney (Harrisburg, Pa.) scored his seventh goal of the season.
Freshman Pierre Reedy (Kutztown, Pa.) added his first career points as a Nittany Lion, tallying assists on the first two goals of the night for the Blue and White, while C. Maloney added one assist to bring his season point total to 18. Redshirt-junior Evan Finney (San Francisco, Calif.) earned his fourth win of the season and 10th start, making five saves for the Blue and White.
Rutgers (0-12-2, 0-6-2) outshot Penn State 17-16 in the 108-minute match with Dante Perez and Jason Wright taking five shots apiece for the Scarlet Knights. Perez and Tim McQuaid both found their first goals of the 2016 campaign as both were able to sneak one by Finney in the second half of action. Goalkeeper David Greczek made eight saves but suffered the loss in net for RU.
The Nittany Lions found an offensive groove in the 21st-minute of the match ripping three-straight shots that an alert Greczek was able to get a hand on and keep out of the back of the net for the Scarlet Knights.
Ten minutes later, the freshmen duo of De La Camara and Reedy teamed up to give Penn State the early lead when Reedy passed the ball to the top of the left side of the box to De La Camara, who squared up and laced a shot into the middle of the left side of the net in the 33rd-minute.
The Blue and White took the narrow 1-0 lead into the locker room at the half as both teams took an even seven shots with four reaching net.
Rutgers came out of the locker room on an offensive charge, scoring five minutes into the second half when Perez took a shot from 8-yards out on the left side of the net that got past the out-stretched arm of Finney.
Reedy gathered the ball inches over the midfield line and lofted it up to a breaking C. Maloney in the 75th-minute. Maloney made a swift move to his left around the defender before sending a soft shot into the bottom right corner of the net to give Penn State the 2-1 advantage.
With only two minutes left in regulation, Rutgers capitalized on a corner kick putting a shot from McQuaid into the bottom left corner of the net to send the match into overtime.
In the 108th-minute of the match Sigue stayed on-sides just long enough to find himself alone with the keeper off a pass from C. Maloney. Before Greczek could sneak up and grab the ball off the foot of Sigue, the Alberta, Canada native took a shot from 8-yards out that would sail into the back of the net and score the game-winner for the Blue and White.
The Nittany Lions will conclude its 2016 regular season home schedule Tuesday, Oct. 25 when it clashes with Wright State on Senior Night. The Blue and White will honor the careers of their six seniors at the 7 p.m. match at Jeffrey Field.