Penn State men's soccer game grades: Michigan State

Bouncing back was most definitely the goal for Jeff Cook and company on Friday, but after three straight losses, sometimes you just need to get a little lucky.

And for Malick Daouda, he got the goal to win it with 3:44 to play on the clock, as the Nittany Lions defeated the Michigan State Spartans 2-1 in regulation.

“We worked a lot for this game, especially with what happened earlier this week and it just felt amazing to win today,” Daouda said.

Penn State did very well with their test in this game, and the grades will reflect that.

Goalkeeping: A-

In what was a shaky week for Andrew Cooke, who faced a lot of shots and let some in and stopped some, he played very well.

The one goal Cooke allowed in this game hit the perfect spot of the next off of the crossbar and down into the net.

“I don’t think that’s saveable for any goalie in the world, it was a world-class goal,” Coach Cook said about the goal from Michigan State’s Jonathan Stout.

Overall an excellent performance from the keeper in this contest.

Defense: B+

Coach Cook said earlier this week that he needed to see improvement from his defensive group, and what an excellent improvement he saw in this one.

The trio of Mohammed Cisset, Jack Bonas and Samuel Ovesen played the majority of the contest on the backline, and they kept the ship centered for the game.

The Spartans were not able to generate a whole lot of offensive pressure in the contest, besides a couple of quick shots that were put away.

Now heading on the road, the cohesion defensively will for sure be a key piece if Penn State can fully turn the cover on their slow start to the season.

Midfield: A-

The midfield tandem of Malick Daouda and Freddie Bell showed how explosive they can be as Dauoda scored the game-winning goal in the contest.

Michigan State was able to generate chances, but not around the midfield. Penn State was able to force numerous turnovers throughout the game, which led to quality grade-A scoring chances.

Daouda talked about not playing with Freddie Bell last Tuesday due to an injury. He mentioned in his comments how they’re getting their footing going now considering Bell had been sidelined with an injury to start the year.

It feels safe to say that the midfield has returned to a solid level.

Forwards: A-

The combination of Aboubacar Camara and Christian Dionne on Friday night turned out to be pretty good for Penn State.

Camara was able to generate chance after chance, nearly scoring on multiple occasions while inside the box.

The first goal of the game for the offense, which came early in half number two, was started by Dionne’s excellent move on the far side, which Camara was able to bury home.

Besides that Caden Grabfelder was also able to generate a lot of offense on the field along with the big-time goal from Daouda off of the free kick from one of the captains Matthew Henderson.

Coaching: A-

Coach Cook’s substitutions, although questionable because of the volume of subs he made at the end of each half, did turn out to produce positive results.

Keeping the main thing the main thing was what Cook echoed he said to his team after half number one. He felt that they had played well in the first 45, and just had to stick with it.

It worked in a big time, and with that the Nittany Lions secured their third victory.

Overall: A-

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