UNIVERSITY PARK, PA.- Penn State men's soccer defeats Wisconsin 1-0 in its Big Ten home opener and 10th annual Mack Brady Match. This marks the sixth straight Nittany Lions win against the Badgers
FIRST HALF
The Nittany Lions maintained possession for the majority of the opening period. Kris Shakes saved Penn State from a corner kick scoring opportunity for the Badgers, punching the ball away from his goal.
Two back-to-back header shots from Ben Liscum in the 25th and 26th minute put the Badgers keeper to work.
SECOND HALF
Penn state maintained its pressure coming into the second half. Head Coach Jeff Cook told them at halftime, "You have to be persistent throughout the half and keep pressing."
They continued to do that with several opportunities to score. Mangione found his way into the Badgers' box numerous times but came up just shy of a goal.
An offside call in the 78th minute took away a goal from freshmen midfielder Cohen Weaver.
The Nittany Lions did not slow up, controlling the ball for most of the game. In the 86th minute freshmen defender Matthew Henderson connected with redshirt freshmen Van Danielson to find the back of the net.
Henderson sent the ball in the air to Danielson in the box whose head found the ball and sent it into the goal. Cook spoke about the goal afterwards, "It is a really special moment for him [Danielson], he's had a great start to his career and we are thrilled to see him continue forward."
The Badgers responded with a pressing offense forcing two corner kicks in the last few minutes. Shakes came up again with a huge, diving save on a corner kick to defend the Penn State net.
The final score was 1-0, marking the Nittany Lions' first conference win of the year.
OF NOTE
- Danielson scored his first career goal.
- The Nittany Lions are now 7-1-2 in the annual Mack Brady Match.
- Penn State outshot Wisconsin 9-3.
- This victory marks the sixth straight win for the Nittany Lions in the series with the Badgers.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions travel to #8 Maryland for their second conference match of the season. The game will begin at 7:00 p.m. in College Park, Md. And will be televised on the Big Ten Network.