Men's soccer

Penn State goalie Wolverton flashes skill in net with highlight-reel saves in losing effort against Syracuse

Margaret Lin | Photo Editor

SU forward Emil Ekblom reacts while lying on the ground in front of Penn State goalie Andrew Wolverton, who made eight saves and kept the Nittany Lions in the game.

Syracuse goalkeeper Alex Bono stood in front of his goal and watched as Penn State keeper Andrew Wolverton repeatedly stonewalled the Orange from point-blank range on the other side of the field.

Despite the PSU senior heroically preventing Syracuse from finding the back of the net on multiple occasions, Bono said he enjoyed watching it.

“He’s one of the better goalkeeping talents in the country,” Bono said. “There’s no doubt about it.”

Wolverton came up with eight saves compared to Bono’s zero, and kept his team in the game on a day that SU head coach Ian McIntyre said he could’ve seen his team put a couple more in the back of the net. Whether it was tipping the ball over the bar or lunging to his sides to get a finger on a shot, Wolverton did all he could to keep Penn State (13-6-1) from letting an eventual 2-1 loss to ninth-seeded Syracuse (16-3-1) be more than that in the NCAA tournament second round at SU Soccer Stadium on Sunday.

“We’ve won a game 2-1 and he probably is man of the match,” McIntyre said of Wolverton.



Fifteen minutes into the game, Syracuse forward Chris Nanco had a one-on-one with the PSU keeper, but Wolverton went to his knees to make the save. Then the senior sprawled out to his right to get a fingertip on an Alex Halis header that would’ve put Syracuse up 1-0 in the first half.

The Orange has been applauded for its stout defense all season, but it was Wolverton who had the longest scoreless streak to begin the regular season of all goalies in the country. Against the goalie with the second-best goals-against average in the nation, Wolverton was up to the task.

“He was pulling saves out of nowhere and that was really impressive,” Bono said. “He’s a tremendous goalkeeper and he kept them in the game for a long time.”

At 6 feet, 6 inches, Wolverton was able to reach just about anything.

SU left winger Liam Callahan headed a ball from 5 yards out to the top of the goal, but Wolverton skied to tip it over. Then the senior showed his versatility by diving on the ground to his right to save a Nick Perea one-time shot that would’ve tied the game.

In a game that the Orange had to fight tooth and nail to win, it would’ve been much smoother of a ride if it weren’t for the man in net for the visitors.

Said SU defender Jordan Murrell: “You’ve got to praise players when they keep you in a game like that.”





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