Highlighting the Penn State goalies

Jeff Cook and the Penn State Nittany Lions men’s soccer team have the difficult task of replacing one of the greatest goalies in their history.

Kris Shakes, who is a top-three goalie in all major goalie statistics in Penn State’s history, has moved on to play for the USL Championship club team New Mexico United.

With Shakes on the move, the pressure now moves over to two goalies, one who was here as the backup to Shakes last season, and the other who transferred in to try and finish out his college career.

Let’s start with the goalkeeper who returns to Happy Valley for his redshirt freshman season, the Swede Fredrick Grundin.

Before making his journey to Penn State for the 2023 season, Grundin was a member of the Taby FK Senior Team in his home country of Sweden. He played every minute for the U-19 team as well as being rostered in 22 games for the 2022 season.

Although being from Sweden, according to soccerwire.com, he was interested in going to the school while in school in Sweden.

“I chose Penn State because it is such a storied sports institution. It is a school I knew a lot about despite living in Sweden. It feels great to be joining such an incredible soccer program with a driven team behind it and resources I have never seen. It is a place I will get a great education while also growing tremendously as a person and athlete.”

Grundin has played in one game this season, Penn State’s lone win against the Army Black Knights, 2-1 at home.

The shakeup for the Nittany Lions at goalie will definitely feature Grundin for a good bit this season as he will be looking to cement himself in the role.

The newcomer for Penn State, Andrew Cooke is another part of the goalkeeper committee that helps to lead the Nittany Lions to a successful season.

A 6-foot-4 graduate student from Akron, Ohio, Cooke understands how to be a big net-front presence.

In 2017 playing for his high school Revere in Ohio, Cooke had a huge season where he allowed 12 goals in 26 total games, which included 10 ties on the season for his team.

At the next level for Colgate, Cooke was a three-time Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week as well as starting 38 of the 40 games that he was there for.

Cooke, now a Penn State graduate student, has started the season opener and the last game against Pitt. Taking on teams like Clemson in Pitt is no easy task for any goalie especially this early on in the season, with Clemson being ranked number one and Pitt number three in two of the first three games.

A slightly easier stretch will now follow the tough start to the 2024 slate as the Nittany Lions enter Big Ten play in less than two weeks when they travel to Ann Arbor.

Both Grundin and Cooke understand how hard it is to replace a legend behind the pipes, and throughout the rest of this season, they will do the best they can to help bridge that gap.

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