2024 Penn State men's soccer game grades: vs. Army

Two Olympico’s in the same game is something that is oftentimes never seen in any soccer game no matter the level.

The Olympico is a corner kick that goes in unassisted. And this past Sunday at Jeffrey Field, the men's team was able to nab two of them in the second half off of the feet of Caden Gradfelder and Matthew Henderson.

Penn State was able to win 2-1 due to the unique goals against the Army Black Knights to improve to 1-1 on the 2024 season.

With all of that said, here are the game grades for each position on the field for the Nittany Lions.

Goaltending: B+

Penn State started out their season at Clemson with goaltender Andrew Cooke, the graduate student from Colgate, between the pipes. After that game head coach Jeff Cook decided to go with a redshirt sophomore from Sweden for the Sunday game.

Frederick Grundin, who redshirted behind star goalie Kris Shakes last season, made his first start for the Nittany Lions on Sunday.

Grundin was pestered quite often in the first half, as Army’s forwards were able to generate lots of pressure on the keeper. They did all of that however with a total of eight shots and only a pair that were on target.

For a first start, Grundin performed very well, and showed he had a calm demeanor under pressure.

Defense: B-

The good for Cook and his team was the response from his defenders in half number two.

In the first 45 minutes, Army had an offensive barrage that confused and slowed down the Penn State defenders.

It was definitely a much different half-number one than two. In the second half, they allowed six fewer shots (two) than they had in half number one.

The three main defenders Mohamed Cisset, Jack Bonas and Matthew Henderson have played all 180 minutes so far this season.

The improvement from the back line in the latter 45 of Sunday’s contest was pronounced heading into week two of the season.

Midfield: B

The midfield played tremendously throughout the game for Cook’s squad, as there were many good passes back and forth in the midfield.

No midfielder for the Nittany Lions played the entire 90 minutes of the match on Sunday, but the continuous rotation of players off of the bench kept the legs fresh.

The midfielder that played the most minutes, Caden Gradfelder, had three shots on goal along with his Olimpico goal which ended up being the game-winner.

Although the midfield played well, they weren’t outstanding throughout to earn an A rating, but they were very solid.

Forwards: B-

The scoreboard may fool some people, but Penn State did not generate a large amount of pressure on the Army defenders.

Kelly Cooper, the star defender for the Black Knights had a tremendous game, but considering the Nittany Lions' strong offensive firepower, only three total shots on goal as a team is not a large amount.

Especially when you consider that two of them were by way of a direct corner kick.

The fatigue factor may have been a part of the slow offensive production from Penn State, but I would expect a rebound this weekend, as the team takes on Pitt on Friday night at Jeffrey Field

Giustino Racchini is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, you can email him at gar5448@psu.edu.