UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's soccer team's (13-7-1, 6-2-0 Big Ten) terrific season came to an abrupt end in the second round of the NCAA Tournament following an 8-2 loss to the Hofstra Pride (18-1-2, 5-1-2 CAA) Sunday evening at Jeffrey Field.
"First, I would like to say that despite tonight's result, I remain immensely proud of our players," said head coach Jeff Cook. "It's been a great season. Tonight wasn't us and we can't make any excuse. We'd like to congratulate Hofstra – they played an outstanding game. They were excellent tonight and deserved to win. The biggest thing is that we're just so disappointed not to have the chance to advance and continue this wonderful season we've had. The players deserve great credit for what they've done all year despite tonight, but as I said, I remain very proud of what we achieved this year. I am proud of the guys. It was a very difficult week for us. Again, Hofstra deserved to win tonight, and we can't take anything away from that over the 90 minutes."
It was a difficult week for the Nittany Lions leading up to match day, with 12 student-athletes out throughout the week due to non-COVID related illnesses, resulting in lost training time.
Roc Carles and Hendrik Hebbeker both had a brace on the day for the Pride, while Ryan Carmichael added a goal and an assist. Hofstra outshot the Nittany Lions, 18-15, with shots on goal being 11-7 in favor of the Pride.
Sophomore Femi Awodesu and senior Danny Bloyou added consolation goals for the Nittany Lions late in the game, both scoring a goal each. Redshirt senior Pierre Reedy added an assist in his final game in a Penn State uniform, as did sophomore Tyger Evans.
Hofstra advances to play the No. 5-seeded Pittsburgh Panthers in the third round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
Penn State's season ends following a historic 2021 campaign that included both the Big Ten regular season and Tournament championship crowns.
Recap written in part by Strategic Communications intern Connor Donohue.
