SEATTLE, Wash. – The Penn State men’s soccer program dropped its conference opener in a 4-2 fashion thanks to a flurry of second half goals from the Washington Huskies on Friday night at Husky Soccer Stadium in Seattle Washington.
PSU dropped to 2-3 (0-1 B1G) in the 2026 campaign, while Washington improved to 4-2-1 (1-0). Freshman Beckham Brown posted three points to lead the Nittany Lion attack while freshman netminder Daniel Peluffo-Wiese made a career-high eight saves.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST HALF
Washington controlled the first 30 minutes of action, allowing just three Penn State attacks while controlling a majority of the possession in the Nittany Lion defensive half. The Huskies had the first three shots and first three corners of the match, but the Penn State defense held the home team off the boards.
PSU made its first shot count in the 33rd minute, scoring on its first official shot of the day. What began as a free kick for the Nittany Lion culminated with freshman Beckham Brown taking a crack at the goal from the top of the box. His initial shot was saved, but senior Amadou Kone cleaned up the shot, burying the ball to give PSU a 1-0 lead.
The PSU lead lasted all of five seconds, when a volley off of the restart leveled the match at one.
Washington continued to possess down the stretch, outshooting PSU 4-0 in the closing minutes, but the Nittany Lion defense did not bed, conceding no further goals.
SECOND HALF
The momentum remained with the Huskies to open the second half, and the Huskies finally capitalized in the 50th minute, when a turnover in the PSU defensive third gave Washington numbers in the Penn State box. A dish to the top of the six-yard box from the touchline ended in the back of Peluffo-Wiese’s net.
The Blue & White’s deficit lasted just over a minute when after a long corner service found the head of sophomore Joe Sheridan, who dished the ball to freshman Sheridan McNish. A loose ball in the six ended up at the feet of Brown, who buried his first career goal to knot the match at two.
UW retook the lead in the 59th minute after back-to-back corner kicks, forcing a 3-2 edge.
Penn State had the bulk of the chances for the remainder of the match, but an 86th minute insurance goal by the Huskies was the only ball to find the back of the net.
OF NOTE
- Beckham Brown notched his first career point with the assist on Kone’s score.
- Brown went on to claim the best single-game point performance so far this season for Penn State, totaling three points on his goal and assist.
- Sheridan McNish earned his first point of the year with his assist on Brown’s tally, while the helper from Joe Sheridan marked his first assist and third point of the season.
- Peluffo-Wiese’s eight saves mark the most by a Penn State netminder since Andrew Cooke tallied nine on September 17, 2024, against Ohio State.
Penn State men’s soccer is back home in University Park, Pennsylvania, for its first home conference game under first year head coach Rob Dow. The Nittany Lions will host Michigan State for the Mack Brady Match on Friday, September 18. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. (ET) at Jeffrey Field, with streaming available on B1G+ and the Big Ten Plus app.