UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- After a five-game stretch of conference play, Penn State men's soccer finally had a break from conference play, and it came at a what might be just the right time for the Nittany Lions before the season's final stretch.
On Tuesday evening, the Nittany Lions returned to Jeffrey Field for their first nonconference game of the next two weeks, taking down Stony Brook, 3-0 in front of the home crowd. Penn State fans saw some new faces at the starting positions this season, including redshirt sophomore midfielder Daniel Gonzalez and junior goalkeeper Arie Ammann.
"It feels good," Ammann said on getting on the field following the win in which he played all 90 minutes in net. "It feels really good to be back out there and I got a nice applause from my teammates and that's all I really need."
The victory was led with two goals from Gonzalez and one from senior Mac Curran. The goals for Gonzalez were his first two of the year, and Curran's single goal was his second of the year, after scoring once earlier in the season.
With new starters contributing, head coach Jeff Cook noted the importance of players seeing action this late in the season.
"Some of the guys haven't had a lot of play for one reason or another," Cook said. "The college soccer season is so intense and compact with a high number of games in a short space of time, we felt we needed to rotate the group."
Although the Nittany Lions will return to Big Ten action play Wisconsin on Sunday, the team will once again face two nonconference opponents with Detroit Mercy on Oct. 17 and James Madison on Oct. 20. Ammann said these games provide a chance for players to prove themselves.
"Every game is big for us," Ammann said. "We can't afford to take days off. Just because it is an out of conference game, doesn't mean we can lay up. We want to win every single game we play."
The Nittany Lions are currently 2-4 in nonconference play, but will be looking to add to their resume with two wins next week. Coach Cook said that although their season is ultimately driven by conference play, getting a big win against a talented nonconference team gives you a nice bounce in your step.
"It is a lot easier to come to practice," Cook said. "It is a lot more fun to watch film on the back of a win. I think that anytime you are trying to build something, you need that to be reinforced with results."
Gonzalez shared that the team needed this win to bring their confidence up and to help them continue to win more games as their season comes to the final stretch. Penn State has three conference and two nonconference games left to play before the end of the season.
The Nittany Lions will stay at Jeffrey Field when they take on the Wisconsin Badgers, facing off this Sunday at noon.