Penn State Falls to Indiana in Heartbreaking Fashion
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- The rematch of the 2020 Big Ten championship between the Penn State Nittany Lions and Indiana Hoosiers did not disappoint Sunday afternoon at Jeffrey Field.
The Nittany Lions fell 1-0 in heartbreaking fashion in front of their home crowd on senior night.
The first half was headlined by the goalkeepers as Kris Shakes made four saves for the Nittany Lions while Roman Celentano made five huge saves for the visitors.
Shakes made the first diving save of the contest in the 20th minute before Celentano matched his efforts in the 24th minute.
The biggest swing of the first half occurred in the 35th minute when the Hoosiers missed a wide-open net to take the lead while the Nittany Lions responded with two great shots that were met by a sprawling Celentano in the 37th minute.
Despite great chances from both sides, the two teams were ultimately deadlocked at halftime.
The second half lacked opportunities compared to the first half as Indiana controlled possession in the midfield and the refs pulled out their whistles a little more often.
Indiana’s possession finally paid off as a Hoosiers cross was met by the head of Penn State’s Brandon Hackenberg as he accidentally hit it into his net giving Indiana the decisive goal in the 75th minute.
Despite the unlucky goal and the final score, Penn State coach Jeff Cook was encouraged by his teams’ performance.
“Although we are disappointed to not come out on top today, we understand there is a long way to go and all of our goals are still ahead of us,” Cook said.
Cook noted the tough conditions, and found it hard to get going in the second half attacking into the wind, “The wind was a major factor, and I don’t like to make excuses but to play into a driving wind you could see the ball holding up.”
Penn State finished with 11 shots with five of those on target while Indiana had 14 total shots with four of theirs on target.
The Nittany Lions fall to 8-5-1 on the year and will be in action next Friday at Ohio State while Indiana climbs to 9-3-1 and will host Evansville on Wednesday.
Charlie Knezevic is a third-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email charlieknez@gmail.com
