Friday, March 29, 2024

Mens soccer loses to Penn State in Big Ten tournament

November 13, 2000
MSU freshman forward Thomas Trivelloni works the ball down the field Thursday during the game against Northwestern at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The team came out victorious against the Wildcats. —

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The second day of play in this weekend’s men’s Big Ten Soccer Tournament witnessed the demise of the two top-seeded teams.

The second-seeded Spartans lost to third-seeded Penn State 2-1 Friday, while top-seeded Indiana fell to fifth-seeded Ohio State. Going into the tournament the Hoosiers were rated No. 9 in the country while the Buckeyes were No. 19.

The Buckeyes played the Nittany Lions on Sunday in the championship game, with the Buckeyes defeating Penn State 3-2 in overtime, earning them an automatic bid in the NCAA tournament.

After clobbering Northwestern 6-0 in the first round Thursday, MSU met Penn State in Friday’s semifinal. The Nittany Lions were looking for revenge after their 2-0 loss Oct. 22 to the Spartans.

Senior forward Steve Williford said things went MSU’s way in the Oct. 22 win. Williford added that it’s hard trying to beat a team twice in one season, especially since MSU was at a disadvantage playing with 10 men to the Lions 11 after a red card penalty.

“I think last time a lot of bounces went our way,” Williford said about MSU's 2-0 win over then No. 15 Penn State. “I think we knew they were going to come out looking for revenge. Last time after we beat them they were kind of pissed off. They thought they were the better team by far. So we knew we had a battle coming into today, and things just went their way and we lost.”

The Spartans came out sluggish against No. 22 Penn State - only firing four first-half shots while recording no corner kicks.

Penn State also only managed four shots in the first half, converting on one of the shots at the 14:17 mark when midfielder Pete Shellenberger kicked a shot past MSU senior goalkeeper and co-captain T.J. Lieckfelt.

The Spartans’ best scoring chance in the first half came in the final two minutes when freshman forward Jeffrey Krass misfired after receiving the ball off a free kick.

Krass had another goal scoring chance when a teammate passed him the ball on a throw-in at the start of the second half. While the Spartans missed opportunities, Penn State scored its second goal at the 60:40 mark when midfielder Derek Potteiger netted a goal from 30 yards out after a broken breakaway.

After its second goal, Penn State looked to play possession soccer by holding the ball and running time off the clock.

The Spartans foiled the Lions game plan with 14:30 remaining in the game when Penn State forward Brent Jacquette committed a foul by going over the back of MSU senior forward and co-captain John Benoist.

Benoist was rewarded with a penalty kick and placed the ball in the upper right corner of the net past Penn State goalkeeper Ryan Sickman.

After the goal, the Spartans kept applying offensive pressure, keeping the ball in Penn State’s zone for most of the time remaining.

Penn State head coach Barry Gorman said a team can be very deadly after cutting a 2-0 lead to 2-1.

“The score line of two-nothing in soccer is one of the most dangerous scores,” Gorman said. “When a team gets back into it you know it’s kind of a momentum swing,”

A few minutes after Benoist’s goal, freshman forward Thomas Trivelloni recovered his own rebound by the net and took a shot right back into Sickman’s arms.

Penn State managed to clear the ball every time MSU worked the ball into Penn State’s zone. With a minute remaining, Penn State cleared the ball to Lieckfelt, who booted it to the other end of the field where it was knocked out of bounds by a Penn State defender.

The play resulted in a last-second corner kick to Benoist. Benoist fired a shot from about 35 yards out, but it was deflected as time expired in the game and the Spartans’ season.

“They’re an outstanding team and we knew we had a real battle on our hands,” MSU head coach Joe Baum said. “I thought we showed great character, great perseverance. We got one (goal) and we almost had the second one five times, so you have to give us a lot of credit for fighting until the end.”

Williford said the underclassmen and juniors on the team will be able to build off the Spartans’ showing in this year’s tournament.

“I’m very proud to be part of this team,” Williford said. “We never gave up once this year and I think we helped bring this program to another level. Hopefully the kids who are returning can continue on and take it from here.”

Discussion

Share and discuss “Mens soccer loses to Penn State in Big Ten tournament” on social media.