UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's soccer team (5-6-2, 2-2-2 Big Ten) recorded their fourth consecutive shutout, taking down Detroit Mercy (1-12-2, 0-5-1 Horizon), 2-0, Wednesday evening at Jeffrey Field.
"It's a great win tonight," said head coach Jeff Cook. "This is a very challenging stretch of games for us with so many games, playing back-to-back-to-back. We scored two great goals in the first half and I thought we started the second half at a much better tempo than we had played at in the first half. I'm pleased we were able to get a lot of guys in the game and get important minutes for experience in depth. Overall it's a positive night for us. I am delighted to get a win and take another step forward as a team."
The Nittany Lions took the lead early, capitalizing off a Titan foul in the 11th minute. Junior Aaron Molloy took the free kick and sent it inside the box and after a Titan touch, junior Brandon Hackenberg gets a good touch on the ball and is able to sneak it past the goalkeeper to put the Nittany Lions up 1-0.
The goal marks Hackenberg's first career goal.
Is it 2015? A Hackenberg scoring for Penn State...
— Penn State On BTN (@PennStateOnBTN) October 17, 2018
Brandon Hackenberg tallies his first career goal for @PennStateMSOC! #WeAre #LockedIn pic.twitter.com/4knFJ1Kd5L
Penn State continued its offensive control in the first half as senior Mac Curran found the back of the net in the 36th minute after sophomore Callum Pritchatt's shot was blocked.
Curran's goal off the rebound is his third goal of the season, a career high in single season goals. Pritchatt now has three assists on the season.
In the first half, Penn State outshot Detroit Mercy, 9-3.
While the offense did not score in the second half, the Nittany Lions were still able to control possession and take 11 shots, including seven on net.
The defense remained strong throughout the 90 minutes, only allowing four total shots and none on net. The fourth consecutive shutout marks the first time doing so since the 2012 season (Sept. 14 – Sept. 25).
The Nittany Lions finished the game with 20 total shots (13 on goal) to the Titans' four. The Titans held the edge in corner kicks, 7-4.
Up next the Nittany Lions hit the road for their final nonconference game of the season, facing James Madison in Harrisonburg, Va. on Saturday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m.