UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (Sept. 10, 2008) – The Saint Francis men's soccer team traveled to perennial Big Ten power Penn State and gave the Nittany Lions all they could handle, but a late goal resulted in a hard-fought 1-0 loss on Wednesday night at Jeffrey Field.

The Red Flash were outshot 23-5 in the contest, but sophomore goalkeeper Darius Motazed (North Vancouver, Canada/Sentinel Secondary) (North Vancouver, Canada / Sentinel Secondary) had a sensational match with nine saves to give his team a chance at victory.

Penn State (2-3) didn't strike pay dirt until freshman Justin Lee scored in the 76^th minute from an angle 12 yards out. Freshman MacKenzie Arment dribbled the ball across midfield and hit senior Barkley Miller with a pass in the center of the pitch. Miller once-touched a long pass down the right flank to Lee, who put the ball into the lower right corner at 76 minutes, 11 seconds.

 SFU dropped to 0-3-1 with the loss. The Red Flash will have another stiff test at 7 p.m. on Saturday night when they travel to West Virginia, which has been ranked as high as 15^th a few weeks ago.

 Penn State's goal came just as Saint Francis was beginning to put some pressure on the Nittany Lion defense.

 With 36:03 remaining in the contest, junior Omo Sumah (AccoKeek, MD/Gwynn Park) (AccoKeek, Md. / Gwynn Park) found himself on a breakaway in the upper left corner of the 18-yard box. But his shot went right into the chest of PSU goalkeeper Liam Fitzwater.

 SFU had another chance with 34:20 left when freshman Kingsley McLeod (Rocky Mount, N.C. / Rocky Mount) fed a great cross into the box. His ball was targeted for the head of sophomore Patrick Fleming (Dunedin, New Zealand/Bayfield) (Dunedin, New Zealand / Bayfield), but a Nittany Lion defender was able to get a head on it and knock the ball away.

 Penn State nearly took the lead three minutes later on a Drew Cost shot. The sophomore midfielder took a point-blank shot from 12 yards out that Motazed made a terrific diving save on.

 Red Flash freshman Taylor Powers (Petaluma, Calif./Casa Grande) (Petaluma, Calif. / Casa Grande) had the team's next opportunity when he was fed the ball inside the 18-yard box off tic-tac-toe passing from teammates Sumah and Owen Gombami (Pumula North Bulawayo, Simbabwe/Mzilikazi) (Pumula North Bulawayo, Zimbabwe / Mzilikazi). Powers had a good opportunity in the 64^th minute from 14 yards out, but Fitzwater came out and punched the ball away as Powers released his shot. The ball went into the left corner harmlessly.

 SFU had another solid chance in getting behind the Nittany Lion defense just three minutes before they took the 1-0 lead. Sumah crossed into the 18-yard box from the left corner, and McLeod re-directed the pass to a wide open Gombami, who put the ball into the lower left corner of the net. However, Gombami was offside by a step, negating the goal.

 Following Penn State's game-winner at 76:11, the Red Flash had several opportunities to get at Fitzwater, including two set pieces off corner kicks. But the Nittany Lion defense didn't allow any clean shots.