ROSEMONT, Ill. – Seven total Penn State men's soccer student-athletes were honored by the Big Ten with 2020-21 season awards as announced by the conference office Friday afternoon. Junior Danny Bloyou and redshirt senior captains Brandon Hackenberg and Pierre Reedy were all named to the first team while junior Seth Kuhn and sophomore Kris Shakes were named to the second team. Freshman Peter Mangione made the all-freshman team and redshirt junior Nicholas Rieple was honored as Penn State's Sportsmanship Award recipient.
Bloyou earns first team All-Big Ten honors in his first season in the conference after transferring from Old Dominion last spring. The forward from Philadelphia, Pa. leads the Nittany Lions with four goals and one assist for nine total points. Bloyou recorded his first career multi-goal game with two goals against Rutgers on March 15 and then scored the game-winning goal in overtime at Northwestern on March 19 to be named College Soccer News' Men's National Player of the Week on March 22.
Hackenberg is on the first team for the second-straight season. The veteran center back from Palmyra, Va. has started all eight games on the backline for the Nittany Lions as he led a rather young group of defenders to three consecutive shutouts in a span of a five-game unbeaten streak. Hackenberg has one assist on the year and has played nearly every minute to help his team to a 6-1-1 record in conference play for the second-straight year. He was recently considered as the 25th-best upperclassmen on Top Drawer Soccer's Midseason Top 100 list.
Reedy is the final Nittany Lion to be named first team All-Big Ten as he earns his second career All-Big Ten honors but first since 2016 when he was on the all-freshman team. The midfielder from Kutztown, Pa. has had a phenomenal full season this year, with a career-high four goals, including two game-winners. Reedy scored a goal in the season opener on Feb. 19 against Maryland, his first goal since his freshman year in 2016 after missing both the 2017 and 2018 seasons due to injury. He also earned a Big Ten weekly award this season on March 30.
The Nittany Lions placed three on the first team for the second-straight season. It marks the first time since 2005-06 that Penn State has had three or more first-team members in back-to-back seasons.
Kuhn received second team All-Big Ten plaudits for his first career season award. The central midfielder from Wyomissing, Pa. has commanded the game for Penn State as the leader in the middle of the field, setting up numerous plays for the Nittany Lions' offense this season. He has one goal and two assists for four total points. Kuhn was considered an honorable mention on Top Draw Soccer's Team of the Week for the week of Feb. 15-21.
Shakes collects his second career All-Big Ten award on the second team after being named to the all-freshman team in his rookie season in 2019. The goalkeeper from Sunrise, Fla. has been solid in between the pipes for Penn State with a 0.96 goals-against average and .793 save percentage. His save percentage ranks second in the conference and top 50 nationally. Shakes posted three-straight shutouts during the regular season and earned a Big Ten weekly award after that stretch on March 30. He's gone unbeaten in net with a 5-0-1 record this season and has an impressive career record of 14-1-1 in two seasons.
Mangione has had an incredible rookie season, clinching himself a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team by unanimous vote. The forward from Hunt Valley, Md. has a team-high four goals and one assist for nine total points. Three of his four goals are game-winners, a mark that paces the league and is seventh in the nation. Mangione is also first in the nation in shot accuracy, shooting 76.9 percent on target. He picked up a weekly award in his first week of college soccer on Feb. 24 and was named to College Soccer News' Team of the Week that week. Mangione is considered the 13th-best freshmen in Top Drawer Soccer's Midseason Top 100 list.
Penn State has had at least one freshman make the All-Freshman Team for the last six seasons (2015-present).
Rieple is Penn State's Sportsmanship Award recipient. The defender from Kirtland, Ohio has started the last five games on the backline for the Nittany Lions, helping them to a five-game unbeaten streak and three-straight shutouts in the middle of that run.
The No. 2-seed Nittany Lions (6-1-1, 6-1-1 Big Ten) host the No. 7-seed Ohio State Buckeyes (3-5-1, 3-5-1 Big Ten) on Saturday in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals at noon on Jeffrey Field. The match will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.
Read the full Big Ten release to see all of the 2020-21 Big Ten Men's Soccer Season Award winners.
