AKRON, Ohio – The Penn State men's soccer team (8-4-1, 4-0-0 Big Ten) fell to Akron (7-3-2, 1-1-1 MAC), 2-1, Wednesday evening at FirstEnergy Stadium.
"I'm very proud of the second-half performance of our team, and also feel that Kris Shakes and our back four deserve a great deal of credit for keeping the game from getting out of reach in the first half," said head coach Jeff Cook. "Our second-half performance is much closer to the standard that we expect from our team and after tonight I feel we have all learned how important it is to compete for 90 minutes in order to have a chance to be successful at this level of play. There are a lot of positives we can take into our game against Indiana at Jeffrey Field on Sunday."
Akron dominated the first 20 minutes of play, earning a total of four corner kicks in the opening minutes, as well as scoring the first two goals of the game in the 16th and 20th minutes, respectively, to take an early two-goal lead.
The Nittany Lions earned three-straight corner kicks in the 44th minute for their first real offensive chances of the match, but nothing would come of it as they would head to the break in the hole.
In the 57th minute, junior goalkeeper Kris Shakes made a great save at the near post to keep his team within reach. Shakes finished with three saves in the match.
Junior Andrew Privett took Penn State's first real chances at net in the 67th and 69th minutes, respectively, with a rebounded shot that went just wide to the right and another from longer range that was blocked.
Sophomore Tyger Evans had a good look on target in the 83rd minute but the Zips keeper was there for the save. Akron's defense then headed the ball out of play to set up a Penn State corner kick.
On the corner kick, senior Seth Kuhn took the set piece as its first bounce went off an Akron defender and immediately out to an awaiting Dax Hoffman who's one-time strike found the back of the net to get the Nittany Lions on the board.
Penn State would try to find the equalizer in the remaining seven minutes of the match, but would ultimately come up short in the non-conference finale.
UP NEXT
Penn State will conclude the regular season with four Big Ten games in the next two and a half weeks, starting with the Indiana Hoosiers coming to town on Sunday, Oct. 17. Kickoff from Jeffrey Field is slated for noon and will broadcast live on Big Ten Network with Dean Linke (pxp) and Chris Munroe (analyst) on the call. The match will also be Senior Day for the Nittany Lions, presented by the Penn State Alumni Association, in which the program will honor Danny Bloyou, Seth Kuhn, Adam Laundree, Alex Morgret, and Keegan Ness.
GAME NOTES
- Senior+ Dax Hoffman recorded his first career goal in the match.
- Hoffman became the 10th Nittany Lion to record points this season.
- Senior Seth Kuhn registered his team-leading fifth assist of the season, matching a career best from 2019.