Penn State Men’s Soccer Wins Big Ten Tournament

Story posted November 18, 2021 in CommRadio, News by Gabrielle Teiner

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - For the first time since 2005, Penn State men's soccer has claimed the title of Big Ten Tournament champions. The Nittany Lions defeated the Number 3 seed Indiana 3-0 at Jeffrey Field, redeeming themselves after losing to the Hoosiers in last year's final. Not only are the team members excited about the new claimed title, but Penn State students, too.

The student section for Penn State soccer, deemed the Park Avenue Army, cheered and applauded the men's performance on the field, despite the cold temperatures.  The student group formally unified in 2019, can be found cheering on the team in the stands at every home game.

Leading the enthusiastic students was second year student, Conor Camazine, president of the Park Avenue Army. He says the energy the student section brings was key to helping the men secure the title.

“The atmosphere at the championship game was very much surreal to say the least,” Camazine said. “The atmosphere made it feel like there was a 12th man playing alongside them.”

This game was also the first time since 2015 that Penn State men's soccer has beaten Indiana. It couldn’t have been done without junior goalkeeper Kris Shakes. Shakes throughout the tournament had six-save efforts and recorded shutouts all three games. His hard work earned him Defensive Player of the Tournament honors.
Another shining player was senior midfielder Seth Kuhn, who was voted for Offensive Player of the Tournament. He was able to score the game-winning goal in Sunday’s game and assisted on another goal to defeat the Hoosiers.

As the buzzer signaled the end of the game, students and fans stormed the field to celebrate the big win. Arman Tang, a second-year student majoring in economics, described what it was like storming the field.

“I hopped over the fence and joined the crowd that was jumping in the middle of the field, celebrating around the players,” Tang said. “We got to see them put their Big Ten Champions hat and tee shirts on, it was really fun.”

The Nittany Lions secured a bye for the first round of the NCAA Tournament and will start up the second round this Sunday, November 21 at 5 p.m. They will either host Hofstra or Lipscomb at Jeffrey Field.

 

Gabrielle Teiner is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email gmt5216@psu.edu.

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Gabrielle Teiner

Senior / Broadcast Journalism Major

Gabrielle Teiner is a fourth-year student from Long Island, New York, majoring in broadcast journalism at Penn State. She is a member of the CommRadio news department and can be heard on the air every Wednesday. She also serves as the Entertainment anchor for Penn State Network News every Monday. She also anchors segments on the Nittany Lion Red Carpet News show. This past summer she was a writing intern for uInterview, writing over 140 stories during her time there. She is currently a member of Centre County Report. If you’d like to contact her, email her at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).