Bucknell University
Penn State
Record Crowd Watches #4 Penn State Hold Off Bison, 2-0
10/1/2014 10:06:00 PM | Men's Soccer
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- A new Holmes Stadium record crowd of 1,510 watched fourth-ranked and unbeaten Penn State hold off a Bucknell surge in the second half and prevail 2-0 in the 72nd all-time meeting between the two Central Pennsylvania squads. The non-conference loss dropped the Bison to 5-5 on the season, while the Nittany Lions improved to 9-0-1.
Bucknell got out to a tentative start against the speedy Lions and fell behind 1-0 in the 17th minute. Drew Klingenburg hustled to the end line and chipped a pass back over the defense, and Mikey Minutillo slotted home a shot from the center of the box.
Penn State controlled most of the possession in the first half and outshot the Bison 11-2. Both of Bucknell's shots came in one flurry, where Chris Thorsheim dribbled in from the right and had a shot blocked, and then Jesse Klug's turning shot from 12 yards out sailed high.
The game changed in the second half, as Bucknell upped its aggressiveness and put plenty of pressure on Penn State's three-man back line. Just over two minutes into the half, a shot from Klug was saved by reigning Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year Andrew Wolverton, but the ball squirted through momentarily and Wolverton had to reach back to stop the ball right on the goal line.
Bucknell outshot Penn State 11-9, and Wolverton made six saves in the second half. The Bison had the ball in dangerous spots on several occasions but just could not get the finishing touch. Klug led all players with six shots in the game, and he and Thorsheim were in the middle of most of Bucknell's pressure in the second half.
Penn State did have a goal waved off in the 60th minute. Lewisburg native Owen Griffith scored on a volley, but it came from an offside position after the service grazed a Penn State player in the box on the way through.
With Bucknell pressing numbers forward in the closing minutes, the Nittany Lions scored on a counter-attack with 2:42 to play. Randy Falk, who had just entered the game for the first time, sent a ball into the box, and Brian James lobbed a shot over the head of the charging Clarke Fox.
"We did not play well in the first 25 minutes of the game, and we were even helping Penn State at times," said head coach Brendan Nash. "In the second half we were much more aggressive and confident with the ball, but we just couldn't get the tying goal. That's how we will be looking to play moving forward in league play."
Nash split the goalkeeping duties, with Mike Lansing (five saves) and Fox (three saves) each getting a half. The Nittany Lions finished with a 20-13 shot advantage. That is the most shots by a Bucknell opponent this season. The Bison came in to the night allowing a league-low 9.2 shots per game.
The crowd of 1,510 surpassed the previous Holmes Stadium record of 1,470 for the 2011 Lehigh match. Penn State was the highest-ranked team ever to play in the facility, which opened in 2007.
Bucknell returns to Patriot League play on Saturday when Lehigh comes to Lewisburg for a 7 p.m. start.
