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September 3, 2017
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - For the second-straight match, the Penn State men's soccer team played its opponent to a double overtime 1-1 tie as it drew with Loyola Marymount Sunday, Sept. 3 at Sullivan Stadium.
The Nittany Lions (0-1-2) were the first to strike for the second-straight match as sophomore Aaron Molloy (Dublin, Ireland) scored his second goal donning the Blue and White in the 13th minute on a shot from behind the midfield line and over the keeper's head. Penn State looked to take an advantage into the locker room but LMU's Cole Souza found the back of the net with just two minutes remaining in the first half.
Despite chances for both team, neither was able to secure a goal in the remaining 67 minutes of play, resulting in a 1-1 double overtime tie.
Senior goalkeeper Evan Finney (San Francisco, Calif.) kept the Blue and White in the match for much of the game, saving nine shots on net in his third start of the 2017 season. Molloy, Ethan Beckford (Manchester, England) and Noah Pilato (Oak Hill, Va.) were the only three Nittany Lions to put shots on goal in the contest as Penn State managed five shots compared to Loyola Marymount's 29. However, a red card issued in the first half forced the Nittany Lions to play down a man for the majority of the match. LMU tested Finney a total of 10 times with Alvaro Madrigal and Connor Johnson putting three shots a piece on net.
The match saw minimal action in the first 10 minutes of play, as LMU took the only shot that sailed high and wide. Seeing his first opportunity to test the Lion's keeper, Molloy fired a shot at the net past the midfield line that sailed over the keeper's head who was standing at the top of the box to give Penn State the 1-0 lead in the 13th minute. Molloy's shot was taken five-yards over the midfield line on the Nittany Lion defensive side of the field and sailed over the keeper's head and bounced down into the goal.
Minutes later, the Blue and White was issued its second red card in as many games, forcing it to go down to 10 players for the remainder of the match.
The Lions saw their first big chance in the 31st minute but Finney was able to catch the ball and maintain the Nittany Lion lead. LMU continued to strike offensively with a free kick in the 37th minute before Souza found the top right corner of the net with two minutes remaining in the half to knot the score at 1-1 heading into the locker room.
The Blue and White earned back-to-back corner kicks in the 56th minute that resulted in a hard shot from Beckford from 24-yards out, however, the ball was unable to find the back of the net as Partee dove to his right to stop it from going over the goal line.
LMU peppered the net all match while having an extra man on the field, finding a wide-open shot in the 88th minute that was put high over the crossbar to keep the match tied at 1-1 and send the Nittany Lions into their second overtime in as many games.
Penn State's best chances in the first overtime period came in the 97th minute when Molloy took a corner kick that found the head of Ryan Holland (Leicestershire, United Kingdom). The header went inches wide of the net before Pilato picked up a through ball and took a shot that was saved by Partee just seconds later.
LMU was able to find two scoring chances in the second double overtime period, but Finney and the defense held onto the 1-1 tie for the second-straight match.
Penn State returns to action Friday, Sept. 8 when it takes on in-state foe Saint Francis at Jeffrey Field at 7 p.m.