UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's soccer team (4-6-2, 2-2-2 Big Ten) downed Wisconsin (6-5-2, 3-2-0 Big Ten), 1-0, Sunday afternoon at Jeffrey Field.
"I hope that proves to be a really significant Big Ten win," said head coach Jeff Cook. "We knew that was a really important victory, to get us as high up in the standings as we can get. I'm delighted for the players. I thought their discipline and the way they stuck to the challenge was really impressive. I'm delighted we got the all-important goal to win the game today."
The first half marked a very even game, with back-and-forth play resulting in three total shots for both teams.
The Nittany Lions were able to take more control of possession in the second half, with four of their six shots landing on net, including the goal for the 1-0 lead in the 80th minute.
After earning a corner kick, junior Aaron Molloy sent one into the box hoping to find someone in Blue and White. The ball was kicked around a bit before redshirt senior Dani Marks kicked it out to sophomore Callum Pritchatt right outside the goal box who then found freshman Jeremy Rafanello for the score.
Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Josh Levine had one save in the match on the Badgers' lone shot-on-net in the second half.
Both teams finished with nine total shots. Wisconsin edged out Penn State in corner kicks, 7-5.
Rafanello now has three goals for the season while Pritchatt has two assists and Marks recorded his first of the season.
The clean sheet marks the third consecutive shutout for the Nittany Lion defense and the fourth of the season. The last time Penn State had three consecutive shutouts was in the 2014 season (three occurrences).
The Nittany Lions ended Wisconsin's five-game winning streak with the victory.
Up next the Nittany Lions host one final nonconference game, playing Detroit Mercy on Wednesday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. at Jeffrey Field.