Oct. 26, 2016
By Zach Reagan, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - In the final regular season home match of the season, Penn State men's soccer sent its seniors out in with a 1-0 non-conference victory over Wright State Tuesday night at Jeffrey Field.
Malik Cameron, Evan Finney, Riley Grant, Mason Klerks, Connor Maloney and Robby Sagel were honored after the match with their individual framed jerseys and action photos from their Nittany Lion careers. Penn State head coach Bob Warming applauded this senior class as a group of mature young men that represented Penn State on and off the field tremendously
"I'm going to miss everything about them (the seniors)," said Warming. "I've been coaching for five decades and I can tell you this generation of students is the best to be around out of any of them. They are so wired to what's going on in the world. We go on the road and we can talk about anything. They are global human beings. What I'm going to miss about them are the relationships."
As for the match itself, the lone goal of the match came in the eighth minute when the Nittany Lions (8-6-2) were on the attack against Wright State (9-5-2). Speedy Dayonn Harris sprinted down the sideline. He stopped then passed it off to Connor Maloney at the top of the box, then Maloney passed to a streaking Pierre Reedy charging at the top of the box. Reedy dribbled for a few seconds, hesitated to shoot instantly because of defender traffic in the box, but then sent a world-class left-footed shot into the left side of the net from 19 yards out to register his first career goal as a Nittany Lion.
"It felt good," said Reedy. "It was a long time coming so to finally get it, it was a good break for me."
On a night that celebrated the careers of seniors, Reedy, a freshman stood out. Fittingly enough, Maloney, a team captain and phenomenal player in Penn State history was credited with the assist. Maloney to Reedy was the passing of the torch in a sense.
"Look at the youth on this team; there's a lot to be hopeful for," said Warming. "There's a big, bright future for the team going ahead."
Reedy's goal put Penn State up 1-0 and the score didn't change the rest of the match. The Kutztown, Pa. native showed flashes of quickness down the wing all season but had no goals or assists to show for it.
"He's worked so hard all year long," said Warming. "He couldn't get an assist. He couldn't buy one then he gets two the last game in front of half of his high school then tonight to get a spectacular goal for first collegiate goal."
After Reedy's game-winning goal, Penn State continued offensive pressure throughout the first half with a few more scoring chances among their 12 shots. Most notably Sam Bollinger took a shot that hit the crossbar in the 43rd minute.
Coming out of halftime, the Nittany Lions sat back in defensive mode and the Raiders played most the last 45 minutes in Penn State's defensive end. The Raiders didn't have great chances to score but had a bunch of plays in the box in the latter stages of the match the Penn State held off. The game featured 26 shots in all, only three of them were on goal including Reedy's goal.
Warming preaches that the most common score line of college soccer games is 1-0 and Penn State found itself on the winning side of that score. Reedy's goal was enough as Penn State's senior goalkeeper Finney and the defense led by seniors held strong to post the team's fifth shutout of the season.
The Nittany Lions will look to continue to play their best soccer down the stretch as they travel to Northwestern Sunday for a 1:00 p.m. to conclude their Big Ten regular season. Depending on the result and the results of the other games, Penn State could host a Big Ten Tournament game at Jeffrey Field.
For more information on Nittany Lion men's soccer, log onto www.GoPSUsports.com and follow the team on the various social media platforms.