UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's soccer team (4-1-2, 1-0-1 Big Ten), remains unbeaten in the last six games after a scoreless double-overtime draw with the Michigan Wolverines (3-2-3, 0-0-2 Big Ten) Friday night at Jeffrey Field.
"As ever in Big Ten men's soccer, it's a battle until the end, and tonight was no different with a double overtime game so I'm extremely proud of the way our players responded," said head coach Jeff Cook. "I thought Michigan was better in the first half than we were and I thought our second-half response was great. We hit the post at one occasion and then in the overtime I thought we were competing tremendously well. So you know it could have gone either way, of course, but that's again why our conference is so even and so balanced. I give a lot of credit to Michigan, but also what a night for our guys to respond so well to a tough game."
Michigan dominated most of the first half, firing off all six shots in the period within the first 20 minutes of action. Penn State goalkeeper Josh Levine made saves on all five shots that were on target to keep his Nittany Lions in the game.
The Penn State offense was only able to take three shots in the first 45 minutes of play, but did have the advantage in corner kicks, 5-4.
The home team picked up the pace in the second half, outshooting the Wolverines, 5-3.
In the 69th minute, senior Christian Sload had the best chance of the game thus far for Penn State, but his shot just pinged off the right post to keep the game with goose eggs on the board.
Junior Callum Pritchatt had another good look at net for the Nittany Lions in the 83rd minute but the header shot went wide right.
Both of Levine's saves in the second period were diving saves that kept the threatening Wolverines on their toes.
In the overtime periods, neither team had the best offensive chances as the defenses continued to dominate the game and only one shot was taken by Michigan.
Levine, with the memory of the late Mack Brady in mind, finished with a season-high seven saves in the match and moved to 1-1-2 on the season in net.
The Nittany Lions continue their best start since the 2014 season, now with a 4-1-2 record and a six-game unbeaten streak.
Penn State has a quick turnaround in games for the next month, first traveling to East Lansing, Mich., to take on the Michigan State Spartans on Tuesday, Oct. 1. That game will also be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network with a 6 p.m. kickoff.
