UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Behind a brace from junior forward Liam Butts, the Penn State men's soccer team (4-2-1, 1-0-0 Big Ten) came back from a goal down to beat the Northwestern Wildcats (2-3-2, 0-1-0 Big Ten), 2-1, Friday evening at Jeffrey Field in the Big Ten opener.
"Welcome to the Big Ten," said head coach Jeff Cook. "I think that was a very typical Big Ten contest against two teams that were desperate to get the first three points that were available this season. I'm delighted that our guys showed the character to respond to losing the first goal like we did. I thought some of our attacking play was absolutely first class – two good goals to go in front. If there's a frustration in the night, it's clearly not finishing more of the chances that we did create, which makes the game interesting, and you know that you're always going to get a push back from the opponent. [Northwestern head coach] Russell Payne is in his first year and I think he's doing an excellent job. They had a lot of fight in them, and we saw that late on there with two or three very nervous moments. So, I think overall we have to be really pleased with getting a win in the Big Ten on the board here at home. Another great crowd, super energy, and really proud of our team tonight."
The match started off with both teams looking to establish possession. Penn State had the first two opportunities at net, with a shot by redshirt senior Pierre Reedy in the third minute go wide right and another great look just yards out by sophomore Tyger Evans in the fifth minute that also just went wide of the goal.
Northwestern then got on the board in its first shot on target of the day in the 12th minute when the Wildcats' Vicente Castro kept possession in the box, despite being double teamed, and crossed the ball to Justin Weiss near the penalty spot for the score.
Penn State would find themselves in the hole early, but continued to press on the offensive end, taking 10 more shots in the first half looking for the equalizer. In the 24th minute, junior Andrew Privett had a shot nearly found its way it but it rang off the left post and back into play.
The Nittany Lions went into the break trailing by one, but immediately came out of it and scored 19 seconds into the second half to tie the game.
Privett passed the ball to classmate Liam Butts at the top of the box and Butts just ripped a shot to the top-right corner of the net to equalize the score.
Take a look at this strike from @TheLiammB for the equalizer! 🤩#WeAre pic.twitter.com/IOjgo5SQyx
— Penn State Men's Soccer (@PennStateMSOC) September 18, 2021
About five minutes later, senior Danny Bloyou was able to fend off a Wildcat defender and crossed the ball to Butts in the six who finished the ball with his right foot to the near post for the go-ahead goal.
51' | And just like that it's 2-1 Nittany Lions!!
— Penn State Men's Soccer (@PennStateMSOC) September 18, 2021
Butts puts his second of the game away on the great pass from Danny Bloyou to put Penn State in the lead. pic.twitter.com/aXzD8t8yj7
Penn State continued to press once ahead, looking for the insurance goal to put a stamp on the conference opener. In the 75th minute, junior Alex Stevenson had a shot that deflected off a Wildcat defender and trickled into the back of the net, but an unfortunate offsides call overturned the goal.
Northwestern had a few chances at the end to find its equalizer, however junior goalkeeper Kris Shakes and the defense did a good job to keep the visitors out of the net and to give the home team the victory.
UP NEXT
Penn State concludes its three-game homestand with a nonconference match-up against its final in-state foe of the season in the Villanova Wildcats on Tuesday, Sept. 21. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. from Jeffrey Field and will stream live on Big Ten Network+.
GAME NOTES
- Junior Liam Butts recorded his third career multi-goal game and his first of the season. He now leads the team with four total goals.
- Butts' second goal and the eventual game-winner marked his seventh career game-winning goal and second of the season. He recorded five game-winning goals as a freshman in 2019.
- The win marks Penn State's third victory this season after trailing by a goal early in the game.
- Penn State took a season-high 24 shots, the most shots since taking 20 against Rutgers last season (3/15/21).
- Penn State moves to 28-7-4 all-time over Northwestern, including a five-game unbeaten streak dating back to the 2017 season (four wins and one tie).
- Penn State is 4-0-0 in Big Ten openers in the Jeff Cook era.
- The Nittany Lions are now 6-1-2 in the annual Mack Brady Match.