UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Redshirt sophomore Daniel Gonzalez made his first career start in full fashion, recording five points in Penn State men's soccer's 3-0 victory over Stony Brook Tuesday evening at Jeffrey Field.
"It was a great night for us tonight on Jeffrey Field," said head coach Jeff Cook. "I am really pleased for the guys to come out like they did against a good Stony Brook team who is having a good season. I believe that they will be a great contender for their conference so for us to come out tonight and score three goals and keep a shutout is a great step forward. For the team to step up and scratch the surface of our potential was a really positive night and a good step forward."
Gonzalez did not take long to make an impact, scoring his first goal of the game just 50 seconds in. Mitchel Bringolf passed the ball from the top of the box to Christian Sload at the right-hand side of the box who found Gonzalez right in front of the net for the early 1-0 lead.
Senior Mac Curran went to work in the next 26 minutes, firing off three good looks at the net before the fourth one found the back to give the Nittany Lions (3-6-2, 1-2-2 Big Ten) a two goal advantage. This time it was Gonzalez with the assist to Curran for his first career assist and Curran's second goal of the season.
Heading into the break, the Nittany Lions outshot the Seawolves (6-4-2, 3-0-0 America East), 9-4, and didn't allow a single shot on net.
Penn State did not slow down their offensive control in the second half, with Gonzalez scoring his second goal of the night in the 55th minute to set the scoreboard at 3-0 in favor of the Nittany Lions. Travis Keil passed a through ball to Gonzalez who was able to take advantage of a defensive error by the Seawolves and bounce one past their goalkeeper.
Goalkeeper Arie Ammann made his first start of the season in between the posts, holding down the defense for their second consecutive shutout. The junior made one save off the Seawolves' single shot on net in the second half.
The Nittany Lions finished the game with 14 shots to the Seawolves' 10. Both teams earned three corner kicks.
Gonzalez's five points in the match is a career high for the redshirt sophomore, after earning two last season off one goal.
His two goals marks the first time this season a Penn State player has scored multiple goals in a single match, and the first time since Ethan Beckford did it at Rutgers last season (10/22/17).
The last time the Nittany Lions shutout two opponents in back-to-back games was during the 2016 season, with a 1-0 victories over Pittsburgh (10/11/16) and Michigan State (10/15/16).
The Nittany Lions continue their homestand on Sunday, Oct. 14, hosting Big Ten foe Wisconsin at Jeffrey Field at noon. Admission is free for all fans.