COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Top-seeded and 16th-ranked Penn State men's soccer played to a scoreless draw with Indiana on Friday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, but it was the Hoosiers who advanced to the Big Ten Final on penalty kicks, 5-3.
The Nittany Lions (11-5-2) proved themselves sharp following a nine-day layoff, owning the possession battle and earning four corner kicks in the game's first five minutes. Penn State's best scoring opportunity came on a right-winged run by Connor Maloney (Harrisburg, Pa.) who crossed a dangerous ball to Owen Griffith (Lewisburg, Pa.) eight yards from net. His point-blank effort was stopped by Colin Webb (five saves) in the sixth minute.
Indiana was dangerous on the other end of the field, possession for long stretches of play and eventually getting shot opportunities from 20 yards out. Despite five shots, the Hoosiers didn't put one on frame. After 45 minutes of play, Penn State had out-shot Indiana, 6-5.
Penn State battled the wind as much as the Hoosiers throughout the second half as Indiana (7-11-2) tallied 10 shots to Penn State's three. Despite the constant pressure and playing into the wind, it was Penn State's Connor Maloney (Harrisburg, Pa.) who had the best chance of the game to that point, carving up the IU defense and having his 15-yard shot saved by Colin Webb (five saves) in the 63rd minute.
The overtimes largely belonged to the Hoosiers as Indiana held a 7-1 edge in shots. Despite out-shooting Penn State 22-10, Indiana only found the frame once as Andrew Wolverton (Atlanta, Ga.) made the stop on a Nikita Kotlov overtime chance. Indiana's AJ Corrado had two chances to tally the game-winner, but a header was deflected by Randy Falk (Tewksbury Township, N.J.) and another effort clanked the woodwork. Wolverton posted his sixth shutout of the season and 21st of his career.
The penalty shootout saw Indiana ahead the entire time as Kotlov sunk his first shot and Martin Seiler (Stuttgart, Germany) missed Penn State's first attempt off the crossbar. The Hoosiers made all five attempts, while Penn State made three of four including makes by Griffith, Jordan Tyler (Rochester, Mich.) and Shane Campbell (York, Pa.).
Penn State's record moved to 3-9-4 all-time against the Hoosiers in the Big Ten Tournament, with Indiana winning three of four shootouts. The Nittany Lions went 1-0-1 against the Hoosiers during the season including a historic 2-0 win on Oct. 6 in Bloomington.
Now the Nittany Lions await their NCAA Tournament selection on Monday. The selection show airs live on NCAA.com at Noon and the Penn State squad will be hosting a watch part at the HUB in the center of campus. Fans and students are invited to see Penn State's selection.
PENALTY SHOOTOUTIND: Kotlov - MadePSU: Seiler - MissedIND: Hollinger-Janzen - MadePSU: Griffith - MadeIND: Thompson, Ta. - MadePSU: Tyler - MadeIND: Bushue - MadePSU: Campbell - MadeIND: Sparks - Made