DELAND, Fla. – The Penn State men's soccer team (2-1-1) closed out a weekend trip to Florida with a 2-0 shutout victory over Stetson (2-2-0) Sunday afternoon at the Athletic Training Center on the Hatters' campus.
"It's a fantastic victory in very challenging circumstances," said head coach Jeff Cook. "We started very well and Daniel Gonzalez scored an excellent goal to put us in front. From that point on, I thought that our team managed the game well and deserved the late goal to secure the victory. Our defensive quality showed once again as we earned our first shutout of the season."
Penn State was able to establish possession to start the game and scored its quickest goal of the season in the third minute (2:37). Christian Sload crossed the ball in to Daniel Gonzalez for his first goal of the season.
The remainder of the half saw nearly the same amount of shots for both teams as the Nittany Lions held a slight advantage overall, 6-4, and freshmen goalkeeper Kris Shakes had to make one save.
The Hatters came out of the break with a lot of energy, taking five early shots in the first 15 minutes, two of which were on target that Shakes was right there for.
Sload had a good look at the net in the 49th minute that hit off the post. Sload, freshman Liam Butts and junior Callum Pritchatt had subsequent shots in the next few minutes before the Penn State offense was halted for nearly the remainder of the half.
Stetson made one more shot on goal in the 73rd minute that made Shakes made his third save of the half. The Hatters outshot their visitors, 9-6, in the second period and had the 5-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Penn State went over 30 minutes without a shot in the back half of the second half before senior Kyle Perno took a pass from Seth Kuhn to net his first career goal and give the Nittany Lions some insurance and the eventual 2-0 winning score line.
Shakes and the Penn State defense recorded their first shutout in the 2019 season.
The Nittany Lions return to Happy Valley and Jeffrey Field on Friday, Sept. 13 at 7 p.m. when they welcome the Villanova Wildcats to town. Promotions include Pups on the Pitch night, where the first 75 dogs will receive a free chew toy.
Game Notes:
- With the assist on Gonzalez's goal, Sload recorded points in his third-straight game.
- After not picking up any wins on the road in 2018, Penn State is 2-0-1 away from home to start 2019.
- Career firsts: Freshman goalkeeper Kris Shakes recorded his first career shutout in net while senior Kyle Perno netted his first career goal. Seth Kuhn also recorded his first point as a Nittany Lion.