Men’s Soccer Powers Past Rutgers, 4-2Men’s Soccer Powers Past Rutgers, 4-2
Mark Selders

Men’s Soccer Powers Past Rutgers, 4-2

Opens in a new window Box Score Opens in a new window Head Coach Jeff Cook Postgame Press Conference Opens in a new window Seth Kuhn Postgame Press Conference
Box Score

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's soccer team (3-1, 3-1 Big Ten) powered past Rutgers (3-3, 3-3 Big Ten) Monday afternoon at Jeffrey Field for a 4-2 victory and the Nittany Lions' second win over the Scarlet Knights this season.

"It's great to be back playing, fantastic to be at home at Jeffrey Field, and I'm very proud of our team for an important victory in Big Ten play," said head coach Jeff Cook. "I thought from an attacking perspective that was as dangerous as we've looked going forward in recent time so really an impressive offensive display by the guys and pleased to get the victory today."

The Penn State offense recorded 12 points on four goals and four assists, including a two-goal, four-point performance from junior transfer Danny Bloyou. Junior Seth Kuhn added three points on one goal and one assist.

Even after a two-week break from game play, the Nittany Lions showed no signs of being slowed down, holding most of the offensive possession in the first half within Rutgers' zone.

Penn State recorded three early shots in the seventh minute from sophomores Liam Butts and Andrew Privett and redshirt senior Pierre Reedy, but Rutgers goalkeeper Oren Asher made two saves and the defense stopped the third to keep the Nittany Lions off the board.

The Scarlet Knights countered with two shots from Jackson Temple in the 13th and 22nd minutes but both were off target to give sophomore goalkeeper Kris Shakes some breathing room.

Bloyou then got the Nittany Lions on the board first in the 25th minute with a great goal with great lead-up passes up the right side of the field from Butts and Privett.


Not even three minutes after that, Rutgers' Vincent Borden was issued a yellow card setting up a Penn State free kick right outside the top of the 18 that Kuhn took and slotted home for his first goal of the season and a two-goal advantage for his team.


Rutgers got a goal back in the 34th minute on a corner kick and that would lead to a 2-1 score at the break.

Out of the half, the Nittany Lions did not take long to continue the offensive firepower, as Kuhn chipped a long pass to Reedy who beat Asher for his second goal of the season and another two-goal lead for Penn State.


However, the Scarlet Knights countered right back and got within one on a clean-up goal in the 54th minute to make it a 3-2 game.

Butts and Privett both took two good looks at the net after that but those were saved by Asher.

In the 76th minute, freshman defender Tyger Evans did a good job battling with the Rutgers defense in the box to then find Bloyou who blasted it in with his left foot for his second goal of the game.


Shakes earned his second win of the season in net as he and the backline did a good job of keeping Rutgers' offense off-balance in the final 15 minutes to hold on for the victory.

UP NEXT
Penn State heads to Evanston, Ill. for a road match with the Northwestern Wildcats on Friday, March 19. The game is slated for a 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT kickoff.

GAME NOTES

  • Penn State scored four goals for the most goals in a conference game since scoring six against Rutgers during the 2017 season (10/22/17).
  • Junior Danny Bloyou registered his first career multi-goal game for a single-game career-high four points.
  • Junior Seth Kuhn recorded a single-game career-high three points on one goal and one assist.
  • Freshman Tyger Evans made his first career start and recorded his first collegiate point with an assist on Bloyou's second goal.
  • Senior transfer Jose Palomeque made his Penn State debut off the bench in the second half.
  • The Nittany Lions now own eight-straight wins over the Scarlet Knights.
  • Penn State took 20 shots during the game, the most since taking 18 against Pitt last season (10/15/19).