Maryland men’s soccer drops low-scoring affair to Penn State, 1-0

In the 39th minute, Mikah Seger fired the ball across the field, looking to switch sides as his team fought to break the scoreless tie.

His pass would never reach the side, falling straight to Penn State for a huge counter attack. 

Peter Mangione took the ball just outside the box, thundering toward the Terps’ defense before ripping off a shot with his off foot. Seger stood no chance on the near-post thunderbolt — the ball hitting the back of the net. 

“We were in control for almost the entire first half and we made one costly error,” coach Sasho Cirovski said. “If you look at the mistake we made in the first half, just a simple giveaway leads to a goal … You can’t do that on the road against a good team.”

This was the lone goal in Penn State’s (4-1-2, 2-0 Big Ten) 1-0 win over Maryland men’s soccer (1-3-2, 0-1-1), the Terps yet again unable to secure a win in what has been a rough September stretch. 

Injuries played a key role for the Terps, who were missing some players and were unable to play others their typical minutes because of them.

“We’re missing a lot of key players,” Cirovski said. “Not having guys like Colin [Griffith] and Albi [Ndrenika] is really making it a little more difficult for us.” 

Both teams seemed to feel each other out to begin the game, with no real action for nearly the first 15 minutes. Neither side could move the ball up the field, turning it over lots before reaching the final third. 

In the 14th minute, sophomore defender Luca Costabile broke the offensive spell for both teams, testing Penn State’s fifth year goalkeeper Kris Shakes. Costabile received the ball outside the box after a failed corner before firing a low shot on goal. However, the shot lacked power, and Shakes was able to make a comfortable save.

Despite the first chance of the game, it would not open up much with both teams continuing to struggle offensively. 

The game’s next opportunity would come in the 23rd minute off a through ball finding its way behind the Penn State defense to sophomore forward Max Riley. But despite Riley’s dangerous position in the box, the forward was unable to hit the ball with conviction, instead poking it straight to a waiting Shakes, finishing one of the few chances of the first half.

The game began to open up in the 34th minute following a defensive breakdown from Penn State. Off a crosser, the ball found its way to Riley, who took a touch before striking the volley straight into the shins of a Nittany Lion defender.

The action would not end there as Penn State looked to strike in the counterattack. Mangione carried the ball most of the field, warding off efforts by sophomore defender Mack DeVries to poke at the ball from behind. DeVries eventually got in front of Mangione, slowing him down just enough for graduate defender Bjarne Thiesen to catch up and block Mangione’s shot, putting an end to the chance. 

Penn State would continue to pressure the Terps from there, breaking the game’s deadlock in the 39th minute with Mangione’s goal.

This would be the last bit of action before the end of the first half, Penn State happily boasting a 1-0 lead heading into the locker rooms. 

One big storyline for the Nittany Lions was the lack of action from fifth year forward Liam Butts, who scored a hat trick in Penn State’s previous game at Ohio State. Butts did not see the field the entire first half due to injury, according to Penn State coach Jeff Cook. Despite those injuries, Cook said to look for Butts to see some playing time in the second half.

Maryland started with the majority of possession in the second half and soon began knocking on the door for an equalizer. 

The Terps thought they had one in the 54th minute when Stefan Copetti got behind the Penn State defense, one-on-one with the keeper. Copetti lined up his looking at the back of the net, but fired it directly at Shakes as Penn State kept its lead.

Looking to flip the momentum, in the 58th minute Mangione nearly captured a brace, curling one towards the bottom corner between traffic. Seger got the better of him this time, making a huge diving save to keep the deficit at one.

Little action would happen for a large chunk after that, with neither side being able to break yet another offensive spell until Penn State finally found themselves with two clear-cut chances. 

After the 80th minute, it was Mikah Seger who began to take over. 

Between the 80th and 85th minute, Seger would make huge save after huge save, single-handedly keeping the Terps within reach. Butts was able to filet the Maryland defense, going through four defenders for what looked to be a sure goal before Seger came up to make the huge stop, giving his team a chance for the remaining six minutes. 

Maryland would scramble for opportunities to end the game on the back of the momentum Seger generated in the closing moments.

And just when it appeared the game was over — with five seconds left — Riley fired a missile towards goal, Shakes stretching across the net as the ball just cleared the bar, ending the game with another disappointing outcome for the Terps. 

“Mikah kept us in the game with a couple huge saves,” Riley said. “It’s on us to put the ball in the back of the net.”

Next up, Maryland faces another road test in Madison versus Wisconsin at 1 p.m. Sunday.