UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ā The Penn State men's soccer team (5-2-2, 2-1-1 Big Ten), playing a man down for nearly the entire game, was bested by eighth-ranked Indiana (7-1-2, 3-0-0 Big Ten), 3-1, Sunday afternoon at Jeffrey Field.
"I could not possibly be prouder of our players for what they did in the second half," said head coach Jeff Cook. "It was a very difficult situation, obviously, going into halftime with a man down and a deficit. But to play with that much determination and togetherness in the second half against an outstanding Indiana team, I certainly think they're a very strong opponent, but I am just so impressed by the way that we responded when our backs were really against the wall. We were twiddling away there at halftime, but I think that shows you the type of character and quality in our group. Although we're disappointed to lose a key Big Ten game, I think we can take so many positives from how we came together as a team in the second half."
The Nittany Lions played with 10 athletes for almost the entirety of the game as Brandon Hackenberg was issued a red card in the 13th minute. The Hoosiers were rewarded a free kick right outside the box as a result but goalkeeper Josh Levine made a huge save to keep the game scoreless.
Indiana then scored three quick goals within an eight-minute span to take a 3-0 lead with 20 minutes to play in the half.
The Penn State defense was able to stay strong for the remainder of the half and limited Indiana's offensive chances.
Coming out of the break, senior captain Aaron Molloy took a shot that went just high before finding the right placement in the 54th minute to put the Nittany Lions on the scoreboard.
Liam Butts kicked the ball into the six and it was redirected out to Dax Hoffman who pushed it back to Molloy for the score. Molloy now has a team-high four goals on the season while the assist was the first of Hoffman's career.
54' | Penn State gets on the board with senior captain Aaron Molloy's fourth goal of the season!! Dax Hoffman with the assist.
ā Penn State Men's Soccer (@PennStateMSOC) October 6, 2019
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Molloy took two additional shots in the second half but the Nittany Lions were unable to close the gap for their first loss in seven games.
Levine finished with a tied season-high seven saves.
Penn State continues its home stand on Saturday, Oct. 12 when Northwestern comes to town for another conference matchup at 7 p.m.