Men’s Soccer Records Third Straight Shutout vs St. Francis

Story posted September 15, 2011 in CommRadio, Sports by Tyler Ainge

Penn State men’s soccer team (5-1-0) defeated the Saint Francis Terriers (2-3-1) by a score of 1-0 in a nonconference match at Jeffrey Field on Wednesday night.

On a beautiful night in University Park, the enthusiastic student section at Jeffrey Field made their presence felt right from the beginning of the match.

Both offenses came out of the gate firing, highlighted by a rocket shot by Penn State forward Jordan Tyler that was saved by Saint Francis goalie Darius Motazed. The Terriers immediately countered with a good chance of their own on a shot by leading scorer Wayne Tiller, but saved by freshman Nittany Lions goalie Andrew Wolverton.

The scoreless tie was broken in the 20th minute by the Nittany Lions. Defenseman Brian Forgue scored off a deflection from the goalie after an entry pass into the box.

“It was a great ball swung in by Jordan [Tyler], and there was a scrap in the box for it,” Forgue said. “Luckily, I was in the right spot at the right time.

The rest of the half Saint Francis applied heavy pressure in front of the Penn State goal, but the Penn State defense stood tall not allowing them to get any shots on goal.  During halftime and for the beginning of the second half it started to rain, but the crowd struck it out and never let it affect their enthusiasm.

Saint Francis continued to apply heavy pressure on the Penn State defense during the first half, but could not get any more shots on goal due to strong defensive play by the Nittany Lions. As the second half began, a light rain began to fall and made field conditions sloppier. But the crowd remained into the game, and the team took notice.

“The crowd’s enthusiasm was great, as always,” said assistant coach Bo Oshoniyi.  “It makes for a great atmosphere to play in.”  

Saint Francis seemed more affected by the sloppy conditions than Penn State in the second half. Frustrations boiled over as the Terriers racked up seven fouls in the second half alone. This culminated in David Butler receiving two yellow cards and being ejected from the match.

While Penn State did not capitalize on this advantage to put the match away, they did not end up needing to. The Nittany Lions sealed their third straight shutout and fifth shutout of the season with a 1-0 win.

“It’s good to have another shutout,” said Forgue. “It’s what we take pride in, in the back four. And it takes us one step closer to our goal.”

Penn State plays again on Sunday, September 18 at Hartford. They will return to Jeffrey Field on September 27 to face Georgetown at 7 p.m. Tune into ComRadio for complete coverage.


Tyler Ainge is a sophomore majoring in Broadcast Journalism. To contact him, email tja5114@psu.edu.