UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's soccer team rallied for a 3-1 victory over Big Ten foe Ohio State in the conference opener at Jeffrey Field Sunday afternoon. Three different Nittany Lions scored in the victory, including a first career goal by redshirt junior Stephen Kenney.
"I'm really proud to be the coach of this group of student-athletes," said head coach Jeff Cook. "This group has faced a lot of challenges so far in the first six or seven weeks of the season, and for us to respond the way we did today is really impressive. Credit to Ohio State for coming in and playing well, but I'm excited to get our first win in the Big Ten here at Jeffery Field, and I want congratulate everybody involved."
The first two-thirds of the first half were a back-and-forth game, before Penn State (2-4-0, 1-0-0 Big Ten) rattled off two goals within five minutes to take an early lead over the Buckeyes (1-5-1, 0-1-0 Big Ten).
In the 31st minute, redshirt senior Ryan Gallagher found junior Aaron Molloy inside the box for the score. The goal marks the first of the season for Molloy while Gallagher recorded his second assist of the season.
Aaron Molloy with an absolutely filthy goal for @PennStateMSOC today in the first half of their 3-1 win vs Ohio State. This #BTNStandout x @AutoOwnersIns is a MUST SEE!! #WeAre pic.twitter.com/1Qu0C5T8gC
— Penn State On BTN (@PennStateOnBTN) September 16, 2018
Less than five minutes later (35:47), Penn State kept possession of the ball after a corner kick. Callum Pritchatt passed it through the right corner of the box to senior Mac Curran who at the top of the box was able to sneak it past the Ohio State goalkeeper to the bottom left of the net.
At the half the Nittany Lions outshot the Buckeyes 5-2 and had a 7-1 advantage in corner kicks.
Ohio State's lone goal came in the 68th minute by Devyn Etling.
The Nittany Lions weren't done fighting, however, adding a goal in the 81st minute to regain the two-goal advantage. After an Ohio State foul, Aaron Molloy's free kick from outside the box found Kenney in the right corner by the post who headed it in for the goal.
This is the first game since Oct. 21, 2016 against Rutgers that the Nittany Lions have scored three goals in a single game. Before Sunday, the first time Penn State won at Jeffrey Field by multiple goals was against Detroit Mercy last season (Sept. 20, 2017).
Penn State also celebrated the life of Nittany Lion fan Mack Brady on Sunday in the Sixth Annual Mack Brady Match. With the win, Penn State moves to 5-1-0 in these games.
Up next the Nittany Lions face their first conference road test, traveling to Ann Arbor, Mich. to take on Michigan on Friday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed live on BTN+.