EAST LANSING, Mich.- No. 25 Penn State men's soccer draws to no. 13 Michigan State, claiming one point on the road. The Nittany Lions remain unbeaten in Big Ten play with the 0-0 result on Sunday afternoon.
Penn State held the Michigan State offense to no shots on goal throughout the entire match. The Nittany Lions move to 6-1-3, 2-0-1 Big Ten.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
The Nittany Lions held the Spartans to no shots on goal throughout the whole first period and finished the first 45 minutes with four shots to their two.
Samson Kpardeh had a chance to grab the lead for Penn State in the early moments of the half, beating a defender to get the shot off but the Michigan State keeper just got his hands on the ball.
Van Danielson had a threatening chance in the box later on, receiving the ball in front of the goal He turned to shoot and the Spartans goalie once again made the stop.
The score going into the break was knotted at zeros.
Second Half
Back-to-back shots from Ben Liscum and Peter Mangione got the second half offense started.
The pair were then issued two, back-to-back yellow cards to quiet their defensive efforts. The second card, given to Liscum, was just outside the box to give the Spartans a set piece opportunity. Quentin Flowers punched the cross away with his head to begin the Penn State counterattack.
A massive defensive stop from Femi Awodesu saved a breakaway chance for Michigan State and gave the offense life.
Matthew Henderson nearly found a connection with Caden Grabfelder in the box who shot with his back to the goal to force the keeper to make a diving save.
One last offensive opportunity came for the Nittany Lions on a set piece of their own in the 86th minute. With Mangione, Henderson and Liscum all hovering the kick, Liscum ended with a shot that curled around the Spartans' line of defensive but was saved with a diving stop by the keeper.
The final score was left at 0-0.
OF NOTE
- Penn State outshot Michigan State 12-6 in shots and 5-0 in shots on goal.
- The Nittany Lions forced the Michigan State keeper to tie his season high saves and nearly met his season high shots faced.
- This result marks only the third ever tie in the all-time series between Penn State and Michigan State, moving to 26-17-3.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions return to Happy Valley to host Indiana. Kick off at Jeffrey Field is set for noon and will be nationally televised on the Big Ten Network.