UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – In the final minutes of the second half, freshman midfielder Malick Daouda scored his first goal as a Nittany Lion in dramatic fashion to help lift Penn State men’s soccer over Michigan State, 2-1, Friday night at Jeffrey Field.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST HALF
Michigan State and Penn State played an even battle in the first half, despite the Spartans getting on the board first. The two teams split shots with four a piece.
The Spartans were able to take the lead in the 39th minute after Jonathan Stout launched a banger into the top right corner of the Penn State net.
SECOND HALF
Nearly three minutes into the second half, graduate forward Aboubacar Camara capitalized on a Christian Dionne cross to level the match, 1-1.
The rest of the second of half was both teams controlling possession and taking shots on net until the 86th minute. Michigan State’s Christian Bruletti earned a yellow card right outside of the box giving the Nittany Lions a free kick. Henderson blasted the ball into the center of the box where Daouda was able to extend himself past the Spartans’ backline and tap the ball into the back of the net for the match winner.
COACH COOK ON THE MATCH
“I thought we were outstanding in the first half. Soccer is like that sometimes. We were brilliant. For me that's the best 45 minutes we’ve played. I thought with the greatest respect to Michigan State – I have a lot of respect for their program, their staff and their players. I thought that was the best game control that we've had.”
“I'm incredibly proud of the group, staff and players. We had a tough week last week. To show that kind of character and quality to produce a performance like that - I'm really proud of them and also that we deserved to win this match.”
MATCH NOTES
- Penn State outshot Michigan State, 6-3. The Nittany Lions also held the 3-2 edge on corner kicks.
- Camara led the Nittany Lions offensively with four shots, a season high.
- Dionne notched his third assist of the season, while Henderson registered his first.
- Andrew Cooke collected two saves in the 90 minutes.
- Freddie Bell returned to the starting lineup for the first time this season. Daouda also returned after serving a one match red card suspension.
- Penn State continues to lead the all-time series 26-17-3.
- The Nittany Lions improve to 3-5-0 (1-1-0 B1G) and the Spartans fall to 2-4-2 (1-1-0 B1G).
UP NEXT
Penn State men’s soccer will hit the road for their final nonconference match of the season at St. John’s on Tuesday, September 24 at 7 p.m. (ET).