UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s soccer program fell two-goals short of its first Big Ten point of the year after an attempted comeback in the second half. Both goals were scored by junior Ettiene Reck, his first collegiate tallies. Freshman Peter Doran and senior Vladislav Cherny both tallied assists in the first goal of the match.
With the result, PSU dropped to 2-6 (0-4 B1G) in the 2026 campaign, while UCLA improved to 4-1-4 (1-1-2 B1G).
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST HALF
Within two minutes of the start of the match, the Nittany Lions earned their first dangerous scoring opportunity. On a high service, senior Morgan Marshall took a volley just inside of the 18-yard box, shooting it on the right side of the goal. The Bruins' netminder was able to make the stop, sending the ball wide of the frame and awarding PSU's first corner kick.
However, UCLA was quick to respond with a play starting on the left side of the field in the fifth minute. The Bruins' attacker found his teammate in front of the goal and, with a marking error from Penn State's defense, UCLA tallied the first goal of the match.
In the 16th minute, after a stronger foul on Penn State's redshirt sophomore Toby Grant, two yellow cards were shown – one for Grant himself, as well as a Bruins' midfielder for some extracurricular activity near the east side stand. After a challenge from the Bruins, who were searching for a possible harsher penalty needed, no further cards were awarded and play resumed.
Three minutes after the game's first video review, Penn State's coaching staff challenged the on-field decision for a possible foul inside the 18-yard box. The referee's decision came quickly, standing with the prior call of no penalty and souring the Nittany Lions’ chances at a tying score.
In the 21st minute, netminder Daniel Wiese-Peluffo stretched to reach a top-left attempt from a Bruins' attacker. The freshman's performance was essential, securing and ultimately diminishing UCLA's early efforts to extend their one-goal lead.
A quarter through the match, 16 fouls had already been awarded – a testimony to the physicality of the conference matchup.
With 35 minutes on the clock, a quick full field boot by the Bruins goalkeeper followed by a pass inside of the penalty box left a Bruin face-to-face with the Blue & White's netminder. With the play, UCLA extended their lead to 2-0 with Peluffo-Wiese staring down the 2v1.
Three minutes after, Penn State's Moritz Weber grazed a UCLA attacker inside of the box. Coach Dow challenged the referees' call, arguing the contact was entirely incidental and did not stop a clear goalscoring opportunity. After review, however, the on-field decision stood. On the penalty shot, Wiese-Peluffo dived into the right direction of the strike, but the ball ultimately went in, making the score 3-0 for the visiting team.
PSU's defense stayed attentive for the remainder of the half, not allowing the lead to extend more, and the halftime whistle allowed for an opportunity for the Nittany Lions to rethink their strategy.
SECOND HALF
The second half started with back-and-forth midfield possessions and strong physicality. Both teams had opportunities to build off but could never finish the attacks in the final third.
Ten minutes into the closing half, few true offensive efforts were seen from both sides of the field. The closest the Nittany Lions got to a scoring effort was a play by Grant trying to create a header opportunity from senior Amadou Kone. A couple of minutes after, junior Arian Recinos also earned a shot on goal from a strike to the bottom right of the Bruins' net, but that was secured by the opposing team's goaltender.
With UCLA sending unsuccessful long balls back into PSU's defensive zone, the Nittany Lions kept a strong pace, maintaining all their players in the offensive side of the field when holding possession.
In the 69th minute, Penn State's offensive effort paid off. Vladislav Cherny passed to freshman Peter Doran who found Etienne Reck between two Bruins' defenders. The junior escaped between both defensive players, striking the ball into the bottom left of the net and earning Penn State's first goal of the match.
Less than 10 minutes from Penn State's first goal of the match, Reck picked off a lazy pass back to the UCLA goaltender from the defensive line to lower the Bruins' lead to a single goal, 3-2.
Reck continued pushing his team forward, with a shot from just after the midfield line going slightly off target as he tried to chip the greedy UCLA goalkeeper who was nearly 30 yards off his line.
Penn State continued the final minutes of the matchup with a strong defensive effort, earning opportunities through their opponent's errors, but after unsuccessfully looking to draw a few fouls, the Nittany Lion attack failed to convert on a score.
In the final minutes of play, a video review was prompted by the referee after a Bruins player pulled the Nittany Lions inside of the 18-yard box. A seven second review culminated in no call, sparking reactions from the Jeffrey faithful.
With 29 seconds remaining in the clock, a penalty kick was awarded to the Bruins after Peluffo-Wiese touched the calf of their attacker. After the fifth video review, the call was upheld, and UCLA successfully added one more goal into their score to ultimately close out the match.
OF NOTE
- Reck's two goals were his first collegiate career goals.
- Cherny and Doran both recorded their second assists of the season.
- Peluffo-Wiese tallied five saves.
- Twenty-one fouls were awarded during both the first and second half.
- With 42 combined fouls, the contest marked Penn State's most fouls in a match this season.
UP NEXT
Penn State men’s soccer remains at home field for a Friday night kickoff against No. 12 Ohio State for its White Out Match. The match is slated for 7 p.m. (ET) at Jeffrey Field, and will be streamed live on the B1G+ and Big Ten Plus app.
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Visit GoPSUsports.com for more information on Penn State men’s soccer. Fans can keep up to date with the Nittany Lion men’s soccer team on X and Instagram @PennStateMSOC, in addition to the team’s Facebook page at /PennStateMensSoccer.