ORLANDO, Fla – The Penn State men's soccer team (1-1-1) came back on two different occasions in the game to manage a 2-2 double-overtime draw on the road at No. 15 UCF (1-1-1) Friday evening at the UCF Soccer and Track Complex.
"I'm extremely proud of the way the players responded to the challenge of playing such an outstanding team in UCF," said head coach Jeff Cook. "They are without a doubt one of the best teams in possession of the ball in the country, but our defending as a team was first class. This performance is one that we can build on as we look forward to another difficult game at Stetson on Sunday."
The Golden Knights outshot the Nittany Lions, 19-7, and had 10 more corner kicks (14-4), but Penn State took the game into double overtime for the second consecutive matchup with UCF.
To start the game, the ball was played in the middle part of the field for the first third of the half before the ranked home team took the 1-0 advantage in the 15th minute.
Penn State struggled to find its groove in the next third, going without a shot until senior Christian Sload was tripped up in the box in the 31st minute to reward the Nittany Lions with a penalty kick. Classmate and team captain Aaron Molloy converted the opportunity for Penn State to tie the game at one and make him a perfect 2-for-2 on PKs this season.
From there, the Penn State offense took control from UCF and played much of the ball in the Golden Knights' defensive zone. Sload had a breakaway shot in the 38th minute that was saved by UCF's keeper.
However, an unfortunate turnover near midfield put UCF's Cal Jennings in position as he was able to beat the Penn State defense and get the ball to the net to regain the lead in the 42nd minute.
The beginning of the second half started off with UCF controlling possession, taking three quick shots in the first 10 minutes.
In the 58th minute, Penn State got the ball back and Sload took a strike from right outside the midfield circle that went over the keeper's head and into the net to tie the game for the second time. Sload now has two goals on the season, already a season high after only scoring once in each of his previous three seasons.
58' | GOAL! Christian Sload with the strike from OUT DEEP 🤯🤯🤯
— Penn State Men's Soccer (@PennStateMSOC) September 7, 2019
🦁: 2
⚔️: 2#WeAre pic.twitter.com/JdN9U71pYk
Redshirt junior goalkeeper Josh Levine made two critical saves in the second half, once in the 67th minute and again in the 80th minute to keep UCF's offense in check. Levine finished with six saves in the match.
In his first full game back since the 2016 season, redshirt junior co-captain Pierre Reedy came off the bench for the Nittany Lions and had a shot in the final minute of regulation that nearly put the game away for the visiting team.
UCF dominated much of both overtime periods, but the Penn State defense held steady to record a draw with a ranked team for the second time under Cook's tutelage (last at Michigan, 9/21/18).
The Nittany Lions remain in Florida to face Stetson on Sunday, Sept. 8 at 1 p.m. in DeLand, Fla. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.