DSC_1991DSC_1991
Mark Selders

Cook’s Coach of the Year Nod and Mangione Named Offensive Player of the Year Highlight 2021 All-Big Ten Awards

ROSEMONT, Ill. – Six total Penn State men's soccer student-athletes and head coach Jeff Cook were honored by the Big Ten with 2021 season awards as announced by the conference office Friday afternoon. The selections were highlighted by sophomore Peter Mangione's Offensive Player of the Year nod, as well as Cook's unanimous selection as Coach of the Year.
 
In addition to his Offensive Player of the Year award, Mangione was also named to the All-Big Ten First Team along with redshirt senior Brandon Hackenberg. Midfielders Andrew Privett, Seth Kuhn and Pierre Reedy were all named to the All-Big Ten Second Team while junior Alex Stevenson is Penn State's Sportsmanship Award honoree.
 
Cook earns the program's fourth overall Coach of the Year award and first since former head coach Bob Warming went back-to-back in 2012-13. In his fourth season at the helm, Cook has brought Penn State men's soccer back into the national spotlight with two consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament (2019, 2020-21) as well as winning this season's conference regular season title. He holds a 37-21-8 overall record in Happy Valley and an impressive 21-7-4 (.719) record in Big Ten play.

 
Mangione's Offensive Player of the Year Award is the second Big Ten Player of the Year award under Cook's tutelage, joining Aaron Molloy's Midfielder of the Year nod in 2019. Mangione is the first Offensive Player of the Year since Connor Maloney in 2014. The Hunt Valley, Maryland native earns his second career All-Big Ten honor with first-team nods after being on the All-Big Ten Freshman Team a season ago. As a versatile forward and midfielder, Mangione has matched his career best with six goals while adding two assists for 14 total points, second most on the team. Earlier this season he was named Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week after scoring a hat trick against Villanova.

 
Hackenberg becomes a three-time member of the All-Big Ten First Team, receiving the honors for the third-straight season. The veteran center back from Palmyra, Virginia has started all 17 games on the backline for Penn State, leading the group to pitch five shutouts this season. Hackenberg, a two-time team captain, is the first three-time first-team honoree for the program since Connor Maloney (2014-16), and the first three-time honoree at the defender position.
 
Privett received All-Big Ten Second Team plaudits for his first career season award. The junior midfielder from Fallston, Maryland has had a breakout season statistically in 2021, leading the Nittany Lions with 18 total points on a team-high seven goals and four assists for career highs in each category.
 
Kuhn collects his second-straight spot on the All-Big Ten Second Team after also earning second-team honors in 2020-21. The central midfielder has helped command the game for Penn State as the leader in the middle of the field, setting up numerous offensive chances for the Nittany Lions throughout the season. The senior vice captain has three goals and a team-high seven assists for 13 points, career highs in each category. His total assists tie for first in the league at the end of the regular season and top-35 (33rd) in the nation. Kuhn was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week earlier this week after registering three goals and one assist to lead Penn State to two wins and the regular season title in the final week of the regular season.
 
Reedy is the final midfielder to be named an All-Big Ten Second Team honoree as he earns his third career All-Big Ten accolade after earning first-team nods in 2020-21 and a spot on the All-Freshman Team in 2016. The redshirt senior from Kutztown, Pennsylvania has two goals and three assists for seven total points this season, but his leadership as a three-time team captain has been impactful to the team as they battled through some tough results to come out on top of the league for the first time since 2013. Reedy is also a finalist for the 2021 Senior CLASS Award, Penn State's first finalist since 2009.
 
Stevenson is Penn State's Sportsmanship Award recipient. The defender from Bel Air, Maryland has started all 17 games this season, mainly on the backline, to help the Nittany Lions to five shutouts this season. Stevenson has also compiled a career-high three assists as his ability to get forward into the offensive zone on the wing has been crucial.
 
The 2021 Big Ten Regular Season Champions and No. 1-seeded Nittany Lions will host No. 8-seed Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals on Sunday, Nov. 7 at Jeffrey Field at 4 p.m.
 
Read the full Big Ten release to see all of the 2021 Big Ten Men's Soccer Season Award winners.