Penn State men’s soccer ties Maryland in hard-fought battle

Story posted September 21, 2022 in CommRadio, Sports by Micheal Bolger

Penn State ended a hard-fought game on the road against No. 9 Maryland in a 3-3 tie.

Right out of the gates, the Nittany Lions set up for a corner shot and an opportunity at scoring. However, the Maryland Terrapins keeper Jamie Lowell, along with the defense, kept Penn State out.

In the 16th minute, Maryland’s midfielder Nick Richardson scored the first goal of the game with an assist from forwards Hunter George and German Giammattei. Penn State kept Maryland from scoring for the rest of the half.

After going down 1-0 to Maryland, Penn State’s offense scored two straight goals on two shots on goal in the 19th and 27th minutes. Forward Peter Mangione and defender Femi Awodesu had two great shots that gave Penn State the lead heading into the half.

It wouldn’t take long for Maryland to take the lead back. Midfielder Griffin Dillon scored a goal on his own in the first couple of minutes in the second half, followed by a goal by midfielder Malcolm Johnston on a penalty shot opportunity in the 69th minute.

Substitute defender Tyger Evans helped the Nittany Lions tie the game back up in the 74th minute on a penalty kick.

Both teams' defenses locked down for the rest of the game until the final seconds of the game when Penn State went on the offensive and just missed the game-winning shot wide of the goal.

Analysis:

Maryland had a ton of opportunities at the net but couldn’t finish at the net because of miscommunication and offside penalties. Maryland’s bench remained quiet during the game, only contributing to one shot on goal.

Maryland could not get out of their way, fouling 18 times and getting three different yellow cards against three different players. Penn State limited its mistakes to 13 fouls.

Penn State's defense held on, keeping 16 of 19 Maryland's shots out of the net. Keeper Kris Shakes had seven incredible saves that kept the Nittany Lions in the game.

The Nittany Lions were efficient on offense shooting eight shots, seven being shots on goal. They didn’t get many opportunities but the ones that they were given, they made the most of.

Penn State defender Evans had a great day off the bench contributing two shots on goal, one goal and one assist. Evans also paired with Shakes on keeping some of Maryland's shots away from Penn State's goal.

Penn State is now 3-2-2 on the season as it will return home to host No. 16 Akron on Sunday at 4 p.m.

Micheal Bolger is a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email mpb6233@psu.edu.