The Michigan men’s soccer team came into Sunday’s matchup against Penn State as underdogs looking for a much-needed victory amid a disappointing season. Instead, it quickly found itself overmatched and outplayed on the road.
The Nittany Lions (8-3-3 overall, 4-2-1 Big Ten) handily defeated the Wolverines (2-5-7, 1-1-5), 4-0, as Michigan couldn’t find its footing in a windy affair in State College. The team was hindered by its inability to generate any sort of offensive momentum.
From the opening whistle, Penn State had the upper hand, rarely letting the ball leave the Wolverines’ half of the field to begin the game. Applying constant pressure, the Nittany Lions quickly saw their efforts come to fruition. A corner kick in the 18th minute found the feet of Penn State midfielder Caden Grabfelder, who launched a beautiful ball into the upper left corner of the goal over the outstretched hands of freshman goalkeeper Isaiah Goldson.
Just four minutes later, Grabfelder sent the ball with precision to Nittany Lions forward Peter Mangione, who struck from the top of the box to quickly put the Wolverines at a 2-0 disadvantage. The goal was Mangione’s eighth of the year, placing him atop the Big Ten in scoring.
Postgame, Michigan coach Chaka Daley attributed some of his team’s early struggles to the weather at gametime. The strong winds, which reached up to 30 miles-per-hour at times, were at the back of Penn State in the first half.
“Difficult conditions, very, very windy,” Daley said. “So a little bit of the luck of the draw on the coin toss and that gave them a ton of momentum going into halftime.”
Windy or not, the Wolverines struggled to gain any sort of progress early in the game. Errant passes made it difficult for Michigan to work down the pitch smoothly. And when trying to win individual battles, the Nittany Lions often stifled these attempts by sending multiple defenders to swarm the ball. Conversely, the defensive pressure of the Wolverines allowed their opponent to work behind the backline on numerous occasions with crisp through-balls and crosses.
In the second half, the Wolverines picked up the intensity and found more success moving the ball into the attacking half. They finished the game with 10 corner kicks, two more than their opponent, but these efforts didn’t translate to tangible success in the box.
Instead, a Michigan turnover in the 69th minute left Penn State defender Femi Awodesu with the ball. Awodesu dribbled all the way through the defense to draw a penalty kick that he converted to make the score 3-0.
“We were on it in the second half, getting going, getting moving,” Daley said. “We had the wind behind our sails a little bit. The PK changed that.”
The game turned more physical on both sides late in the second half as tensions ran high for Michigan, leading to two yellow cards for each team as fouls piled up.
Graduate defender Moshtaba Al-Hasnawi provided a bright spot for Michigan in the demoralizing loss, as he was constantly involved in the action whether he was providing timely clearances in the Wolverines’ penalty box or pushing the ball upfield to create opportunities for the offense. But Michigan ultimately couldn’t overcome Penn State’s powerful offense, as the Nittany Lions racked up 15 shots before the final whistle blew.
The lack of scoring has been a consistent theme this season for the Wolverines, who have failed to find the net in five out of their last six contests. Goldson has played well in his first season in goal for Michigan with four clean sheets to his name, but if the Wolverines hope to complement the performance of their keeper, they need to figure out how to score.
Penn State defender Morgan Marshall provided the nail in the coffin with his first career goal in the 82nd minute. A brutal day on the field provided another learning experience for a young Wolverines team, which prominently features numerous freshmen in its starting lineup as well as down the depth chart.
“Adversity is a part of growth, and they’re going through a growth phase,” Daley said. “The best thing that can happen to them is to see conditions like that so that they can learn and grow from them. … We learn from it and realize how to deal with it.”
With the season coming to a close and the lack of wins in its season record becoming more glaring, Michigan hopes that this adversity can translate into on-field success – and quickly.