Game Preview: Penn State Men’s Soccer vs. Princeton Tigers
The Penn State Nittany Lions men's soccer team is set to host the Princeton Tigers this Friday, September 9, at 7 p.m. at Jeffrey Field.
Penn State comes into this game with a record of 2-1-1, putting together back-to-back victories in their last two outings: toppling George Mason University 3-1, and upsetting No. 18 West Virginia 3-2. The Tigers enter Friday’s contest winless so far at 0-1-1, losing 2-0 to Vermont their last time out.
At first glance, it’s apparent Penn State head coach Jeff Cook has his team primed for another successful season. Cook, a renowned NCAA soccer coach with a quarter century of experience in the sport, took the Nittany Lions to their third-straight NCAA tournament appearance in the spring of 2021.
The Lions brought home the Big Ten regular season and Big Ten tournament championships as well.
Now in his fifth season with the team, Cook is looking to run it back. He’ll have to vest his trust in several veteran starters on the squad, including leading scorer Peter Mangione. The 5-foot-10 junior forward has tallied a team high eight points so far this season, all of which have come in the last two games.
The reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, Penn State’s first since 2014, has 13 career goals, including six game winners.
Mangione hasn’t been the only bright spot for the Lions so far. Senior forward Liam Butts and senior midfielder Andrew Privett have provided a nice one-two punch to the lineup, complementing Mangione’s scoring prowess.
Butts, a 6-foor-1 forward from Lawrenceville, Georgia, earned All-Big Ten honors in both his sophomore and junior seasons. He hasn’t slowed down, with all four of his points this season coming in the Lions last two games.
Privett, on the other hand, had a breakout season in 2021, leading the squad in both points and goals. He’s logged three points on the year, two coming in Penn State’s last outing versus George Mason.
The Nittany Lions will be presented with all they can handle, as Princeton head coach Jim Barlow has no shortage of experience himself.
Barlow enters his 26th year as the Tigers Head Coach, eager and ready to work. The Tigers finished 12-6-0 in 2021 and went 7-0-0 against Ivy teams, the second time they’ve gone undefeated in conference play in school history.
The 2018 Ivy League Coach of the Year will be backed by his star senior forward Daniel Diaz Bonilla, who currently leads the team in points. The 5-foor-11 attacker finished with Second-Team All-Ivy and Third-Team All-Region honors in 2021.
These two teams met in 2021, where Princeton handed Penn State a 1-0 defeat, out shooting them six to two and thoroughly outplaying them as well.
It’s likely that oach Cook wants some revenge, and his Nittany Lions are looking forward to securing a win on home turf this time around.
Parker Silverman is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email pws5405@psu.edu.
