UNIVERSITY PARK, P.a.- This past weekend the Penn State Nittany Lions men's soccer program hosted an alumni weekend, where alumni gathered for the men and women's soccer games on Friday and Saturday.
The group consisted of both past and present generations of soccer players who once played for the Nittany Lions. Alumnus Jeff Maierhofer (1980-83) was an integral part in creating the alumni group and the event itself.
"I spearheaded, in 2006, a group of 200 players and every world cup year (every four years) we have this big event," said Maierhofer. "We still have an event every year where we come for a game, but it's every four years that it's the biggest.
One of the attending members was Steve Sergi, who played for the Nittany Lions from 1989 to 1992 under previous head coach Barry Gorman. Sergi explained the importance of the alumni reunion and what it means for him.
"It is just a wonderful experience," Sergi said. "My class gets together every year for a week to play golf together, still after 25 years. There is a common thread amongst all the Penn State soccer guys, even before my era; we are down to earth, normal, humble guys and we're happy to do things like this."
During Friday's game, the alumni and fans were given an exciting home opener with double overtime against UCF. Unfortunately, the current Nittany Lions were unable to seal the win, falling 2-1 to the Knights.
At the beginning of the match, a moment of silence was shared to honor previous head coach Walter Bahr. Bahr's family and players were also honored during halftime.
"It was a special night," said first year head coach Jeff Cook. "We got to honor Walter Bahr who was really important to us. His family was in attendance and I've just been so grateful for the warm welcome from alumni, community members and the student body. This is a fantastic place to build a program."
Coach Cook expressed how proud he was of his players and the effort they gave during the 102-minute game. UCF outshot the Nittany Lions, but were only able to net two goals against redshirt sophomore goalie, Josh Levine who finished the game with eight saves.
"I feel great," said Levine. "I feel great health-wise and I am really eager for the rest of the season. I know the guys are really fired up. It was a disappointing loss, but we came out here well today, we showed a fighting spirit and we had some really good moments."
One of those really good moments was when freshman, Jeremy Rafanello, scored his first collegiate goal in the ninth minute.
"It was awesome," said Rafanello. "Callum (Pritchatt) played me a ball through and it was really a team effort. It probably started from Josh, all the way to Callum and then I just finished it and ran over to Sons of Jeffrey to celebrate it."
Levine mentioned what an honor it was to play in front of generations of alumni and expressed all they've done to help the Nittany Lion team.
"It's great to see guys like Connor Maloney out here, who is playing with the MLS club Columbus Crew, and the other guys that mentored me when I was a freshman," said Levine. "I am thankful for all the people who came before us and all we hope to do is leave it better for the people who come after us."
The Nittany Lions will look to redeem themselves at Jeffrey Field on Tuesday, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. against Bowling Green.