UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State men’s soccer returned to the win column Friday evening when the team bested Yale, 1-0, on home turf at Jeffrey Field. The underclassmen ruled the day, with sophomore Joe Buckley tallying his first collegiate points on a goal and freshmen Nehan Hasan dishing the assist, while rookie netminder Daniel Peluffo-Wiese notched a clean sheet.
PSU got back to .500 on the season at 2-2 in the 2026 campaign, while Yale dropped to 1-2 overall.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST HALF
The clock struck 7 p.m. and the Jeffrey Field lights sparked, as the Nittany Lions hustled on with the new Keystone jerseys. As soon as the first whistle blew, Penn State was on the right foot, pressing up the field and controlling the majority of the first 15 minutes of the match.
Senior Amadou Kone started an offensive attack for the Nittany Lions in the 12th minute. The Ottawa, Canada native was able to break through the Bulldogs defensive line and sneak a shot but unfortunately wasn’t able to get the ball in the back of the net.
In the 15th minute freshman Beckham Brown was moving up through the left field unmarked. It was redshirt-sophomore Toby Grant that crossed the ball in a perfect spot that landed on Brown's right foot as he took his boot towards the upper 90, but the ball went just a few inches wide of the right upright.
Freshman Nehan Hasan continued the hustle, looking for a chance to give the Blue & White the lead. The West Chester, Pennsylvania, native scrambled through the 18-yard box in the 34th minute and was able to get a shot off but the Yale defender denied his chance.
In the final few minutes of the half, freshman Sheridan McNish was able to get two shots off but couldn’t get the ball in the back of the net.
SECOND HALF
After a scoreless first 45 minutes, Penn State returned to the pitch with the same momentum they finished with in the first half with. Kone got the action started in the 46th minute with a shot but was ultimately blocked by a Bulldog defender.
Shortly after, the Nittany Lions were able to continue pressure forward, as sophomore Joe Buckley took a shot to the bottom far left corner but was denied entry. On the following possession, Nehan Hasan sent an attempt at the bottom right corner of the goal but was also blocked by the Yale keeper.
Just five minutes into the second half, Penn State already had three shots towards net. The Nittany Lions continued to press their attack in the 50th minute with a one-two pass by Hasan in the box to Buckley’s right foot as he sent a dribbler under the Bulldog netminder into the bottom right corner, giving PSU the lead.
In the 58th minute, the first yellow card of the match was shown to Yale’s Nathan Harmon.
Two minutes later, Hasan dribbled up the right side of the field and flew past a Bulldog defender. Just as he entered the box to take a shot on goal the defensive pressure pushed him to the turf. The Nittany Lions coaching staff challenged the play in hopes of a penalty in favor of the Blue & White, but no such call was rewarded upon review.
The second yellow card of the match was awarded to the Bulldogs in the 75th minute.
After consistent Blue & White possession on the field, senior Morgan Marshall looked for goal in the 77th minute, looking to increase the Nittany Lions lead, but was ultimately blocked in the box by a defender.
Yale turned on their wheels in the final ten minutes of the match, but Penn State remained strong in the possession game.
The Nittany Lions nearly stayed out of the books for the first game, but after a disagreement on a non-call in the PSU box, the Penn State bench received caution in the 88th minute.
OF NOTE
- Senior Vladislav Cherny played his first collegiate game.
- Freshman Dylan Mirakian made his first collegiate appearance.
- The Nittany Lion defense only allowed five shots in Friday night’s game, none of which were on target.
- Freshman Daniel Peluffo-Wiese recorded his first collegiate clean sheet.
UP NEXT
Penn State men’s soccer begins conference play next week when the team takes its furthest trip of the season, heading to Washington to take on the Huskies on Friday, September 11, with a set kickoff of 10:30 p.m. ET. The match, hosted in Seattle, Washington, will be available to stream on B1G+ and the 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.