UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State men’s soccer dominated the visiting King’s College Monarchs in University Park, Pennsylvania, on Sunday evening, 7-1, at Jeffrey Field. Redshirt-sophomore Ben Madore put away his first career hat trick in the contest, while redshirt-senior Van Danielson put up two goals. Christian Dionne and Nziza Siibo also tallied a score in the contest.
Penn State improves to 5-4-2 (1-2-1 B1G) with the victory, while King’s College drops to 2-6-4.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First half
The first 14 minutes of action passed without a shot, as both teams settled into the game. Graduate student Kai Phillip was the first Nittany Lion to get a shot off, but it was Van Danielson who tallied the first goal of the contest. Phillip found a crashing Danielson in the 23rd minute. Danielson’s shot deflected off a King’s College defender, ricocheting to the back of the net, ensuring the visiting goalkeeper has no chance at the save.
Nziza Siibo, a student-athlete who joined the Nittany Lions at the end of summer training, scored his first career goal in the 39th minute. The play started when Danielson collected a long ball inside the Monarch’s 18-yard box. He turned his shoulder to dish a pass out to Siibo at the top of the box. Siibo took his shot, a rip so hard that even after the King’s College netminder got his hands on the ball, it still flew back into the net.
The Nittany Lion defense held strong the rest of the half, preventing as much as a shot by the visitors.
Second half
King’s College was first on the boards in the second half to make the scoreline 2-1, but less 30 seconds later, Ben Madore net his first goal of the match in the 56th minute to get the Nittany Lions the insurance goal.
Christian Dionne got his score in the next minute off a header when he was fed by Morgan Marshall to boost the lead to three.
Danielson tacked on his second of the afternoon in the 66th minute, and Madore completed his hat trick in the 78th and 82nd minute.
OF NOTE
- The seven goals mark the most for the Nittany Lions since besting Bucknell, 7-1, in the 1998 season.
- Sebastian Delacruz, Matt Eger, Conor Clair, and Conrad Brady each made their first start of the season, while Nziza Siibo, posted his first collegiate appearance.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions get some much-needed time off before heading west for the team’s first trip to California since realignment added the west coast schools to the Big Ten. The team will take on UCLA on Friday, October 10. Kickoff at is set for 10 p.m. eastern. Action will be streamed live on B1G+.