Men’s soccer tops Ohio State, now 2-0 in conference

Story posted September 21, 2014 in CommRadio, Sports by Jack Milewski

On a slightly overcast day at Jeffery Field that featured a quick downpour at halftime, the Penn State Nittany Lions defeated the Ohio Buckeyes 1-0 during the second annual Mack Brady day. The Nittany Lions controlled the pace for much of the game, combining shutdown defense with stable midfield play to stifle the Ohio State offensive attack.

Kyle MacDonald scored the Nittany Lions first and only goal in the 63rd minute. It was MacDonald’s second collegiate goal, his first coming last year on Mack Brady day.                       

“Today we were playing for more than just our team, were playing as a Penn State community and for Mack and the Brady family,” said MacDonald. “To have that all in my mind it feels great to put one away.”

The Nittany Lions are known for their shutdown defensive play, and it was on full display throughout the contest. Ohio State could do little to get offensive opportunities. This was due in part to the fact that their game plan seemed to warrant them sitting back and waiting to counter.

However, whenever the Buckeyes got a chance, the Penn State backline held strong. Mason Klerks led the way with numerous timely challenges to thwart any hope of a sustained Ohio State offensive attack.

Goaltender Andrew Wolverton made three saves to get the shutout. With the win and the shutout Wolverton is now tied atop the list for all-time shutouts in Penn State history. The Nittany Lions, who ranked first defensively in the nation on defense, having given up only one goal all year, improved their goals allowed per game average to an uncanny .14 goals a game.

The game started off slowly for both teams as they seemed to be feeling each other out. Penn State carried most of the play, threading together multiple passes through the midfield as they tried to find openings in the Ohio State defense.

The Nittany Lions had four corner opportunities, as well as two free kicks in the first half, but none of those chances amounted to goals. Penn State’s best chance came late in the first half when Brian James stole the ball from an Ohio State defender, carried it into the 18-yard box and then sent a low cross along the ground to Mark Wadid who had it go just wide off the outside of his foot. Just seconds later, Ohio State countered with a three on one, but an errant pass defused to attack.

Despite nothing going in for them during the first half, head coach Bob Warming tried to keep his teams spirits high during the intermission.

“Sometimes when you don’t score a goal and you’re really trying you start to lose a little faith,” said Warming. I just told them that they are really good, stay the course, pick up the tempo and good things will come.”

Good things certainly did come for the Nittany Lions as the half time showers seemed to reenergize the team. They came out with a renewed vigor and really pressured the Ohio State defense. Drew Klingenberg seemed to be the focal point of the offensive attack, as many of Penn State’s offensive opportunities spawned from his left foot. The team’s halftime adjustments allowed them to get better scoring chances and finally allowed MacDonald to break through.

“What we did was we had better runs through the near post so the first guy wasn’t cutting the ball off, it kind of skipped past them and then the second guy was able to get it, we kind of had to cut out that area,” said Warming.

With the win the Nittany Lions moved to 6-0-1 on the year and 2-0 in the Big Ten. The No. 10 ranked team in the nation now sits atop the Big Ten standings alone. The team will conclude its three game home stand Wednesday when they take on the Penn Quakers at Jeffery field. Kick is set for 7 p.m. and can be heard live on ComRadio.

Jack Milewski is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jbmyankee@gmail.com.