Penn State Men’s Soccer Displays Resiliency Defeating American 3-1
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Andrew Privett and Peter Mangione scored twice in under a minute to propel the Nittany Lions to a come from behind 3-1 victory over American University.
Despite falling behind the eight-ball early, Penn State head coach Jeff Cook didn’t panic and told his squad to stay true to their identity.
“The response from our guys was first-class,” Cook said. “Sometimes in sports when things don’t go your way, you have to double down on what you do well. You have to reinforce your principles and plan.”
American played aggressive from the start, pestering Penn State goalie Kris Shakes with numerous first half opportunities. In the 13th minute, Mustapha Sowe gave the Eagles the lead following a Nittany Lion turnover. Evan Schweickert made the interception creating a fast break. On the rush, he fed the ball inside to a streaking Sowe who made no mistake.
Soon after, Penn State turned up the focus. After falling behind, the Nittany Lions possessed the ball in the attacking third creating traffic inside the box. Privett got the Nittany Lions on the board redirecting the ball just outside the six-yard box following a hard feed from Seth Kuhn.
“It’s not ideal to go down early at home,” Privett said. “Not the way you want to start but the response to that was massive. We got back on track and back to our winning ways.”
41 seconds later, Magione made the play of the night. The sophomore used an awkward angle to back heal the ball into the net. It was Magione’s team leading second of the season.
In the second half, Penn State put the game away as Kuhn was called on again to work his playmaking abilities. Kuhn sent a perfect ball connecting with the head of Danny Bloyou who rocketed it past American goalie Lorenzo Gordon for the Nittany Lions’ third and final goal.
Next, Penn State will stay in-state to take on a few rivals. First, they travel to UPenn on Friday and then host Pitt on Monday.
“We want this to become the number one college soccer venue in the country and we are well on our way to doing that,” Cook said. “It does make a difference. The energy lifts the players.”
With the win, the Nittany Lions snagged the series lead over American University improving to a 3-2 record.
Kyle Cannillo is a broadcast journalism major at Penn State University. To contact him, email kcannillo1@gmail.com.
