UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's soccer team (9-2-3, 4-1-1 Big Ten) took care of business in its final nonconference game of the regular season, shutting out the Appalachian State Mountaineers, 4-0, Friday evening at Jeffrey Field.
"It was an excellent result against Appalachian State that came in here with a great record and are competing for a place in the NCAA Tournament," said head coach Jeff Cook. "So I thought the way we approached the game was very satisfying. [We] got some great goals tonight and I couldn't be prouder with the way we played."
No. 19 Penn State dominated play from the beginning, outshooting Appalachian State 5-1 in the first 30 minutes of action.
The Nittany Lions broke the scoreboard first with a goal from freshman Liam Butts via senior captain Aaron Molloy in the 34th minute that carried the home team to a 1-0 lead at the break.
Penn State continued that momentum into the second half with four shots in the first eight minutes back on the pitch.
Senior Christian Sload was able to draw a foul in the box in the 58th minute but Molloy's penalty-kick shot went wide left, the midfielder's first miss on a PK this season.
However, in the 63rd minute, Sload found redshirt-freshman Josh Dabora in the box who was able to get a toe on the ball and into the back of the net for an insurance goal and the first goal of his collegiate career.
Less than five minutes later, Molloy had an absolute rocket shot from outside the 18 to make it 3-0 Nittany Lions.
Redshirt junior Daniel Gonzalez made it 4-0 Penn State in the 88th minute with the header shot from freshman Alex Stevenson for the Nittany Lions' largest margin of victory in 2019.
Freshman goalkeeper Kris Shakes had a quiet evening in net as he did not have to make any saves for his third shutout of the season.
Penn State will host one final regular-season home game at Jeffrey Field on Tuesday, Oct. 29 when defending national champion and Big Ten foe Maryland comes to town. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. between the two top-25 teams and will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.
The program will also honor its nine seniors at the conclusion of the match.
Game Notes:
- Penn State has scored three or more goals five times this season, the most since the 2010 season.
- Aaron Molloy now has a team-high 19 total points on a team-high eight goals and three assists.
- With a goal and an assist against Appalachian State, Molloy has three games this season with multiple points.
- With four goals and four assists as a team for 12 points, the Nittany Lions have two games this season with 10 or more points, the first time being at Stony Brook on Sept. 2.
- Liam Butts has five game-winning goals this season, the most in the conference and tied for the most nationally.
- Josh Dabora scored his first career goal.
- Penn State finished conference play in the regular season with a 5-1-2 record.