No. 24 Penn State Downs Michigan to Advance to Second-Straight Big Ten Tournament ChampionshipNo. 24 Penn State Downs Michigan to Advance to Second-Straight Big Ten Tournament Championship
Mark Selders

No. 24 Penn State Downs Michigan to Advance to Second-Straight Big Ten Tournament Championship

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Box Score

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's soccer team (12-6-1, 6-2-0 Big Ten) advances to its second-straight Big Ten Tournament Championship after defeating Michigan (8-7-3, 4-31 Big Ten), 2-0, in the semifinals Wednesday afternoon at Jeffrey Field.
 
"I could not be any prouder of our team and their determination to advance today," said head coach Jeff Cook. "It was a really difficult game. Michigan is an outstanding team as you saw, but our mentality is growing game by game and we're so excited to have a chance to play in the Big Ten final on Sunday. Regardless of who we play, we know it's going to be an outstanding opponent. I'm really impressed with the way our team is handling the demands of the Big Ten Tournament and I want to congratulate everyone involved in advancing today."
 
The Wolverines started the game controlling a lot of the possession, including taking the first shot of the day in the fourth minute that went off target.
 
The Nittany Lions finally got more control of the ball 10 or so minutes in, and after a Michigan foul in Penn State's defensive half of the field, sophomore Femi Awodesu sent a long ball in near the box in which sophomore Peter Mangione received and played over to junior Liam Butts who then played it to classmate Andrew Privett who was tripped up right outside the box to set up a free kick.
 
Privett, Mangione and senior Seth Kuhn all stood over the ball and as the whistle blew, Kuhn played a short pass to Mangione who stopped the ball for Kuhn to immediately take a left-footed curled shot at the near post for the Nittany Lions' first goal of the game.

 
Just minutes later, Penn State was determined to find an insurance goal as Butts had two attempts at net, one that was blocked and another saved by Michigan's keeper Hayden Evans.
 
In the 22nd minute, Michigan had chances of its own to find an equalizer with back-to-back blocked shots and one off-target.
 
On the counterattack, Penn State raced down the pitch before settling the ball. After sending a ball into the box and it bouncing around, junior Jalen Watson gained possession and sent it out to Privett on the left side. Privett played a cross into the six looking for the head of Mangione and while Mangione froze Evans at the near post going up for the header, the cross went over his head and into the back of the net to make it 2-0 about 24 minutes in.

 
As the next 20 minutes of the half wrapped up, the home team had even more offensive chances by Mangione, senior Danny Bloyou and senior Dax Hoffman but Evans made two saves to keep it a two-goal game at the break.

The second half started with a quick shot on goal by the Wolverines, but junior goalkeeper Kris Shakes was there for the save.
 
Shakes had another big save in the 49th minute on a rebounded shot after the original attempt hit the post.
 
Penn State had some more goal-scoring chances in the second half, including one in the 67th minute by Hoffman that was barely cleared off the goal line by the Michigan defense.
 
In the 74th minute, Michigan earned a free kick about five yards or so outside the box in which the Wolverines directly took a shot on target from it, but Shakes made a one-handed save for his third of the half to keep his clean sheet.

 
Between more offensive runs and a strong backline, the Nittany Lions were able to hold down the reminder of the game to again advance to the title game.
 
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions will host No. 3-seed Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament Championship at Jeffrey Field on Sunday, Nov. 14 in a rematch of last season's title game. Kickoff is set for noon and will broadcast live on Big Ten Network.
 
GAME NOTES

  • Senior Seth Kuhn scored his fourth goal in as many games.
  • Junior Andrew Privett recorded his team-high ninth goal of the season to go along with his four assists for 22 total points, the first 20-point season for an individual player since Aaron Molloy had 24 points (9G, 6A) in 2019.
  • Junior goalkeeper Kris Shakes registered his third-straight shutout and sixth of the season.
  • The Penn State defense posted two consecutive shutouts in the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 2011 when it shut out Ohio State (2-0) and Wisconsin (1-0) in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.
  • Penn State advances to its second-straight Big Ten Tournament championship game. The last time the Nittany Lions advanced to back-to-back conference title games was in 2010-11.