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Nov. 6, 2017
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Penn State men's soccer battled through 90 minutes of regulation play to keep the No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers off the board, but a shot in the box in the 96th minute of the match would prove detrimental as the Nittany Lions fell 1-0 in the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinal match Monday, Nov. 6.
Redshirt-freshman Josh Levine (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) had a big day between the pipes for Penn State, making a career-high 12 saves on the afternoon. As a team, Penn State had five shots with Aaron Molloy (Dublin, Ireland) taking a team-best two shots.
The Hoosiers were led by Cory Thomas who put four shots on goal, including scoring the game-winner in the overtime period, while Griffin Dorsey earned the assist on the play. In all, IU put 14 shots on goal in the 96 minute match at Yeagley Field.
Indiana had its first opportunity a little over halfway through the first half when Mason Toye brought the ball down the field and took a shot on the right side of the net that was saved by Levine. The Hoosiers put another shot on net seconds later with a header inside the box that was again picked up by Levine to keep the match scoreless in the first half.
The IU offense continued to put pressure on the Nittany Lions as Levine closed out the half with six saves and allowed Penn State to take a scoreless tie into the locker room after the first 45 minutes of action at Yeagley Field.
A corner kick for the Hoosiers in the 71st minute led to a handball in the box by the Penn State defense. IU's Trevor Swartz lined up to take the penalty kick but the shot sailed wide over the top of the crossbar as the match remained tied with just over 18 minutes to play in regulation.
The Nittany Lion defense continued to step up as a rushing attack by Indiana was stopped by a slide tackle in the 76th minute of play. The Hoosiers found two more attacking plays in the closing minutes of the match but again Levine was there to make the saves and send the match into overtime.
Four minutes into the overtime period, Indiana would capitalize on its first attempt, as Thomas received a cross on the left side of the net and put it into the left corner to secure the Hoosier victory.
With the loss to the Hoosiers, the 2017 season comes to a close for the Nittany Lions. Penn State finished the year with a 5-10-2 overall record, playing five ranked opponents.