UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (Sept. 29, 2010) –The Saint Francis men's soccer team held a pair of leads in the second half, including one with under nine minutes left, against 24th-ranked Penn State, but couldn't hold on in a disappointing 4-3 defeat on Wednesday night at Jeffrey Field.
Senior Tyler Hibbs (St. Catherine, Canada/Governor Simcoe) (St. Catherine, Canada / Governor Simcoe) scored off a goalkeeper punch out from 27 yards to give the Red Flash a 3-2 lead with 8:50 remaining in the contest. However, Mark Fetrow struck less than a minute later on a controversial play to tie the match, and then MacKenzie Arment gave the Nittany Lions the lead for good with 4:35 remaining.
Sophomore goalkeeper Daniel Valcicak (Herndon, Va./Gonzaga College) (Herndon, Va. / Gonzaga College) was fantastic between the pipes for SFU. He stopped a school-record 20 shots to give the Red Flash a chance to win.
Saint Francis fell to 4-3 with the loss, and will now turn its attention to the Northeast Conference opener on Sunday afternoon at Bryant. The 24th-ranked Nittany Lions improved to 6-2 on the season.
“I'm very proud of our guys,” said Saint Francis head coach Michael Casper. “We came into a hostile environment and battled Penn State, which plays in one of the toughest soccer conferences in the nation. We need to tighten some things up on defense, but our offense was very effective against a Top-25 program. We'll get back at it tomorrow, and prepare for our most important season in the Northeast Conference.”
The Red Flash also got goals from senior Patrick Fleming (Dunedin, New Zealand/Bayfield) (Dunedin, New Zealand / Bayfield) and junior Kingsley McLeod (Rocky Mount, N.C./Rocky Mount) (Rocky Mount, N.C. / Rocky Mount). Corey Hertzog and Matt Smallwood scored the first two goals for the Nittany Lions.
It took Penn State just 3 minutes, 25 seconds to open the scoring. Defender Brian Forgue had a nice slide tackle just outside the 18-yard box near the sideline. He dribbled into the box and fed to Hertzog, who placed the ball into the lower left corner for his ninth goal of the year. Hertzog entered the week leading the nation in goals.
Just 30 seconds later, Jordan Tyler got a great look at the goal, but Valcicak came up with the diving save. Valcicak came up with another big diving stop when Hertzog found himself on a breakaway with 39:16 to go.
With 16:43 to go in the first half, Valcicak came up with a terrific diving save off a Rafael Faria shot from 16 yards out. He momentarily let up a rebound, but was able to smother it to keep it 1-0.
Saint Francis would finally strike after a Penn State foul to get the equalizer. Fleming tied it up with 9:16 to go in the first half when the Red Flash were awarded a free kick from 28 yards out after freshman Tobi Iguade (Bowie, Md./DeMatha Catholic) (Bowie, Md. / DeMatha Catholic) was fouled. Fleming nailed the kick as it was deflected by a defender and then off the post, and past goalkeeper Brendan Birmingham, to make it 1-1.
The teams went into halftime deadlocked at one apiece. The Nittany Lions held a 20-4 advantage in shots, and a 2-1 edge in corner kicks. Penn State was whistled for six fouls, while the Red Flash were called for two. Valcicak was terrific with eight saves in the first 45 minutes.
McLeod's goal was a rocket of a shot that started with junior Taylor Powers (Petaluma, Calif./Casa Grande) (Petaluma, Calif. / Casa Grande) coming up with a steal at midfield. He fed to Fleming, who found a streaking McLeod down the right corner. McLeod hit the ball to the far post for a 2-1 lead with 40:37 left in regulation.
But Smallwood tied it up with 30:00 remaining after he headed a cross into the lower left after a free kick from Matheus Braga.
Braga had another great look at the right side of the net with 14:08 to go. His hard shot from 30 yards out was stopped on yet another diving save by Valcicak.
Hibbs briefly gave SFU a 3-2 lead after Birmingham knocked a corner out of the box. Hibbs struck the ball from 27 yards out to put the Red Flash up 3-2 with 8:50 remaining.
However, Penn State struck quickly on a play that looked offsides. Patrick Krispin passed to Fetrow on the right side of the box. Fetrow put the shot into the right side to tie it 3-3 with 8:05 left in the game.
Arment would put the Nittany Lions up for good with a header deflection from 6 yards out. Braga struck the free kick from 35 yards out.
For periodic men's soccer updates and other Red Flash news, follow Director of Athletic Communications Bob Volkert on Twitter at SFUVolkert.
