Last Second Save from Evans Secures Draw Against No. 23 MarylandLast Second Save from Evans Secures Draw Against No. 23 Maryland
Steven Walter

Last Second Save from Evans Secures Draw Against No. 23 Maryland

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – A relatively quiet first half was followed by a true Big Ten battle in the second that saw Penn State force a 2-2 draw against No. 23 Maryland on Tuesday night at Jeffrey Field in University Park, Pennsylvania. Christian Dionne and Ben Madore each found the back of the net in the contest.

Penn State moves to 2-4-2 with the tie, while Maryland remains undefeated at 5-0-2.

 

HOW IT HAPPENED

First half

The first frame was filled with back-and-forth action, mainly in the middle third of the field, as neither team put a shot on frame until the 36th minute. The Terrapins were the first team to get a good look, and the visitors made it count, scoring when a loose ball trickled out to the top of the Penn State 18-yard box to the feet of a Maryland attacker. The Terrapin struck the ball on his first touch, sending it to the back of the cage.

Both teams got one more look on net before the end of the half, but each goalkeeper made the stop.

 

Second half

Penn State tied the match in the 51st minute when pressure from Caden Grabfelder forced a turnover just outside the Maryland penalty box. He found a crashing Ben Madore at the other end of his pass to earn the assist on Madore’s first goal of the season.

The game went back to balanced play until a Maryland corner kick in the 73rd minute prompted some extra curriculars out of the field of view of the official. After being forced to stop play due to an unseen injury, the head referee went to VAR to analyze what he missed. Many minutes of review later, the official returned to play with a red card for Maryland, putting the Nittany Lions on the 11-on-10 advantage.

Penn State’s Grabfelder and Malick Daouda each earned cautions over the next 11 minutes of action before Christian Dionne buried the go-ahead goal. A strike from his right foot, Dionne cleaned up a ball that leaked through to the Maryland PK mark and put it past the Terrapin netminder to take the 2-1 edge. Maryland’s defense disagreed with the lack of foul called before the strike, gaining a caution for dissent as the referee had already signaled “play-on”.

Just over a minute later, coming in the 86th, captain Freddie Bell earned a caution for a tough tackle. After visiting VAR for a second time, it was determined the foul occurred just inches beyond the Penn State 18-yard box. The Terps punished the Nittany Lions on the dangerous position to knot things up at two.

Penn State appeared to have a clear chance on net when forward Van Danielson put away one on a header, but after VAR review it was determined the PSU striker was offsides in the 87th minute, keeping this level.

The team’s traded yellows to close out the game, but only Ben Liscum’s resulted in a dangerous free kick. With just five seconds left on the clock, Maryland eyed up a free kick from an advantageous angle 25 yards north of the goal line. Penn State netminder Jonathan Evans kept his eye on the ball through traffic, defecting away the final shot of the game to maintain the tie.

 

OF NOTE

  • Madore’s goal marked the second of his career and moved him to three points so far this season.
  • Dionne now has four goals on his career.
  • Gradfelder’s assist marks the seventh apple of his career.

 

UP NEXT

The Nittany Lions are home for the final match in a three-game homestand next week when the team plays host to Robert Morris in the Nittany Lion’s penultimate nonconference game on Tuesday, September 30 at Jeffrey Field. Kickoff in University Park, Pennsylvania is set for 7 p.m. Action will be streamed live on B1G+.