UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – With the sun blazing down on Jeffrey Field, the Penn State men's soccer team battled for 90 minutes but ultimately fell, 1-0, to Oregon State on Monday afternoon.
"This team is really growing with each and every performance," said head coach Jeff Cook. "Obviously we are bitterly disappointed to come out on the wrong end of the result today, but I really want to compliment our players for their excellent performance and for leaving everything they had on the field. It was a really challenging day in terms of the weather. I think in soccer it's hard sometimes to evaluate just only on the result because that can sometimes be an imposter, and for today I thought our performance – other than we maybe could have done a bit better on their goal – overall was a big step forward, as much as we are staring in the face of a really heartbreaking defeat. But, again I am extremely proud of the effort and quality our players showed today."
Oregon State's goal in the 23rd minute came off a Penn State block off a corner kick that ended up just outside the box and was shot in to the left post by Carlos Moliner about 30 yards out.
Both teams ended the first half with three shots each but Oregon State (2-1-1) held the 4-0 advantage in corner kicks.
The Nittany Lions (1-3-0) would spend the rest of the match looking for an equalizer, taking four shots in the second half, including two by Kyle Perno.
Christian Sload had a good look at goal near the end of the match, taking it all the way to the penalty box before it was blocked away by an Oregon State defender.
Goalkeeper Josh Levine made one save at the end of regulation, staring down the Oregon State strikers as they had empty field in front of them and stretching out to make the save.
Sophomore transfer Keegan Ness made his Penn State debut against his former team, playing 10 minutes on the pitch for the Nittany Lions.
Up next the Nittany Lions hit the road to Philadelphia to take on Villanova on Friday, Sept. 7 at 8 p.m. The game will be played at Talen Energy Stadium, home of the Philadelphia Union (MLS). Tickets for the match can be purchased via Villanova.com.