Nick Collins scores 1st career goal, gives away late penalty in Rutgers men's soccer loss to Penn State
Playing without your leading goal scorer is never easy, which the Rutgers men's soccer team had to do in its 2-1 loss against Penn State on Monday night. Senior midfielder Curt Calov, who has a team-high 5 goals this season, was sent off in the 3-1 win against Wisconsin, which suspended him for Monday's game.
Sophomore defender Nick Collins was the unlikely hero for the Scarlet Knights (4-6-2, 1-3-1), scoring his 1st career goal to tie things up, but then gave away a penalty with 30 seconds remaining in the game, handing the Nittany Lions (5-5-2, 2-2-2) the narrow win.
Penn State came out of the gates wanting to dominate possession and set the tone early. This forced Rutgers to sit back and defend, limiting its movement up the pitch into opponent territory.
The Nittany Lions had their first good look 10 minutes into the game. Aboubacar Camara was one-on-one with junior goalkeeper Ciaran Dalton, but Dalton got a last-ditch finger on his shot to parry it away for a corner. But the danger didn't stop there. On the following corner, Penn State defender Jack Bonas rose for a header, which went over Dalton and was rolling into the back of the net, but freshman defender Arnar Adalsteinsson cleared it off the line.
The Knights forced Nittany Lions goalkeeper Andrew Cooke into his first save of the night in the 20th minute. Senior defender Joey Zalinsky crossed the ball to the back post to graduate student forward Ola Maeland, who headed the ball right into the hands of Cooke. It was a routine save but the first real dangerous chance for the away side.
Penn State's Caden Grabfelder attempted a deep shot in Rutgers' half in the 28th minute. Grabfelder has already scored impressive goals this season and came close to getting his 4th goal, but Dalton comfortably saved his bold effort.
Approximately 5 minutes before halftime, a Knights set piece saw freshman midfielder and forward Illia Tyrkus hit the inswinging ball on a half-volley, which Cooke saved impressively, tipping it over the crossbar with his right hand.
It remained scoreless at the break, with the Nittany Lions outshooting Rutgers 6-5, but both sides had two shots on target.
Just as Penn State started the first half, it came out of the locker room with intensity, resulting in a goal 5 minutes into the second half. Michael Hewes did well to evade the tackle from Collins and passed the ball into the box, which hit off Camara's leg and over the line to open the scoring.
The Knights were not down for long, though. Approximately 15 minutes later, junior forward Ian Abbey's cross from the left wing found Collins, who beat his man to tap the ball into the back of the net for his 1st career goal to level the game at 1-1.
With 30 seconds remaining in the game, Collins took Christian Dionne down in the box, and after a video review, the Nittany Lions were awarded a penalty. Camara did not waste the opportunity, blasting his shot in the left corner for his 2nd goal of the night, which proved to be the game-winner.
It was a heartbreaking defeat for Rutgers and Collins. He scored his 1st career goal but was ultimately the reason his side lost the game at Jeffrey Field.
The Knights will return to Yurcak Field on Busch campus on Friday for a game against Northwestern. The contest will kick off at 7 p.m. and be broadcast on Big Ten Plus and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
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