UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Sophomore Peter Mangione's hat trick powered the Penn State men's soccer team (5-2-1, 1-0-0 Big Ten) past Villanova (5-2-0, 1-0-0 Big East), 4-0, on a rainy Tuesday evening at Jeffrey Field.
"This was an important night, a great night at Jeffery Field," said head coach Jeff Cook. "I'm delighted with the performance of our team. Villanova came in with a very strong 5-1-0 record. We knew there were going to be a big threat. I thought the way that we held the game was really, really encouraging to go on and score four goals. For me, one of the pivotal moments of the match was early in the second half when Owen Elliot made a double save on a corner kick, which kept our two-goal lead. After that, we kind of overcame a little bit of a sluggish start to the second half and looked really threatening and created a lot of good chances. Obviously, the two goals, maybe the game, was fairly well decided at that point, but it took a lot of hard work, a lot of teamwork and a lot of quality performances. So really pleased with how things went tonight at home."
The Nittany Lions dominated possession from the get-go, taking two shots within the opening 10 minutes.
From there, the Wildcats attempted to get themselves on the board by taking the next three shots, all of which were off target.
In the 27th minute, Penn State took the lead on a goal from sophomore Peter Mangione. Mangione found the net from the middle of the six after a double cross from senior Danny Bloyou and redshirt senior Pierre Reedy.
Less than 10 minutes later, in the 35th minute, the Nittany Lions added to their lead as Mangione slid in front of the net to score a brace on a shot that hit the crossbar and went in to make it 2-0. Bloyou and junior Andrew Privett had the assists on another great double cross in the box to find Mangione in the six.
Penn State went on to carry its two-goal lead into the half after outshooting Villanova, 7-3, in the first 45 minutes.
Villanova came out fighting in the second half, putting two shots on target off a corner kick in the 48th minute but redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Owen Elliott stopped both to keep the Wildcats off the board.
It was back and forth play for the following 20 minutes until Penn State put a cap on the game with a third goal.
In the 70th minute, Reedy passed the ball to Privett in the top-right corner of the box and Privett fended off a Wildcat defender to net the ball to the far post, giving Penn State the three-goal advantage.
Just minutes later, Reedy had a breakaway chance at goal before he was taken down in the box by Villanova's keeper, Carson Williams. Williams was shown a red card and removed from the match, setting up a Penn State penalty kick opportunity.
Mangione stepped up to the spot and buried the goal to the left for his third of the game and the Nittany Lions' first hat trick since 2010.
72' | MANGIONE HAT TRICK 🎩
— Penn State Men's Soccer (@PennStateMSOC) September 22, 2021
The sophomore buries the PK after the Villanova goalkeeper is shown a red card and removed from the match. Penn State leads 4-0. pic.twitter.com/Pmwwrk2cSb
Elliott finished with two saves for his first career shutout.
UP NEXT
Penn State hits the road for three-straight games, starting this weekend in Princeton, New Jersey at Princeton on Saturday, Sept. 25. Kickoff from Sherrerd Field at Class of 1952 Stadium is set for 4 p.m. and will stream live on ESPN+.
GAME NOTES
- Sophomore Peter Mangione recorded a hat trick with two first-half goals and one second-half goal for the program's first hat trick since Corey Hertzog had one against Old Dominion in the NCAA Tournament in 2010 (11/21/10).
- Senior Danny Bloyou and redshirt senior Pierre Reedy both registered multi-assist games with two assists each for the first time this season. It was also Bloyou's first career multi-assist game and Reedy's third.
- Redshirt sophomore Owen Elliott recorded his first career shutout and Penn State's second of the season.
- Junior Andrew Privett had a single-game career-high three points on a goal and an assist.
- Redshirt sophomore Omar Ozbay made his Penn State debut as a substitute in the final four minutes.
- Penn State is now 10-2-1 all-time against Villanova and a perfect 9-0-0 at Jeffrey Field.
Game recap written in part by Strategic Communications Intern Anna Deshaies.