Penn State men’s soccer looks to bounce back against Lehigh
After a tough home loss to the Princeton Tigers on Friday night, Penn State will look to quickly turn things around in a match against the Lehigh Mountain Hawks.
The Blue and White fell 2-1 to the Tigers at Jeffrey Field last Friday night after giving up an own goal in the first half before conceding a game-winner in the second half.
Penn State chased the game all night long, tying the game up just before half just to find themselves down again midway through the second.
It has been a less than stellar start for the Nittany Lions going 2-2-1 in their first five games. The team looked to be turning the corner after back-to-back wins, one coming against a ranked West Virginia side, but the home loss to Princeton has stifled that run.
Penn State came into the season with lofty expectations, returning top contributors Peter Mangione, Andrew Privett, Liam Butts and Seth Kuhn from last season.
Those top players have kept the goals coming for the Nittany Lions, but the defense has been fragile. Penn State has not had one clean sheet so far this season.
After winning the Big Ten regular-season title and tournament for the first time in their history in 2021, the Nittany Lions were picked to win the conference in 2022. Penn State has not lived up to expectations thus far.
It has been an even uglier start to the season for the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. Lehigh is winless with a record of 0-3-1 so far this campaign.
The Mountain Hawks did not carry the same high expectations as the Nittany Lions, being picked to finish 5th in the Patriot League.
Nevertheless, both teams are frustrated with their level of play this season and will be looking to right this ship in this match Monday night.
Penn State will look to their top scorers, as mentioned earlier, but more importantly, look for veterans in their defense, such as Femi Awodesu to shut down the Lehigh attack.
A Nittany Lion clean sheet Monday could give the Blue and White the confidence and momentum to move past their shaky start.
Lehigh will be looking for attacking player Jack Sarkos to set the pace. Sarkos is the only Mountain Hawk goal scorer this season with two tallies.
If Lehigh wants to cause chaos at Jeffrey Field Monday Night, it will likely have to come through Sarkos.
Both teams are desperate for wins, especially Penn State, who needs to play a clean game if they hope to win back those who held them to high standards in the pre-season polls.
Maclain Young is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email macyoung21@gmail.com.
