UW men's soccer: Penn State knocks Badgers from Big Ten lead

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Penn State beat Wisconsin for the first time since 2005, knocking the Badgers to second place in the Big Ten Conference men's soccer standings.

The Nittany Lions beat the Badgers 2-1 in the clash at Penn State's Jeffrey Field, snapping UW's three-game conference win streak.

Wisconsin came into the game with a 1-5 record in road games, while the Nittany Lions were 6-0-2 at home.

UW (6-8-2 overall) concluded the conference season at 3-3-0, second behind Penn State's 3-1-1, although four of the teams that trail the Badgers have two conference games remaining.

The results of Sunday's matches between Northwestern and Michigan and Ohio State and Indiana will go a long way toward deciding the Badgers' seeding for the Big Ten tournament.

Penn State (10-5-2 overall) made life difficult for the Badgers' back line and peppered senior goalkeeper Alex Horwath with 27 shots, including eight shots-on-goal. Five Penn State players tallied at least three shots, including a game-high six by Drew Cost, according to a UW news release.

Horwath came up with saves on six of the chances Penn State put on frame, including five stops in the second half.

The first chance the Nittany Lions managed to put past Horwath was the penalty kick Matheus Braga converted with just 18 seconds remaining in the first half to give Penn State at 1-0 lead at intermission.

It was the fourth penalty-kick goal the Badgers have allowed this season in five attempts by their opponents.

Corey Hertzog effectively sealed the win in the 78th minute, when he took a ball from Jason Yeisley on a breakaway and found the back of the net to give Penn State a 2-0 lead.

It took less than three minutes for the Badgers to answer, however, as junior Jon Rzepka put home his second career goal in the 81st minute off a free kick from senior Scott Lorenz.

The final four minutes were a flurry of offense, with the Nittany Lions launching four shots -- including two Horwath saved with less than four minutes to play.

The Badgers were unable to find the equalizer despite a pair of shots in the final 90 seconds, including a look by Max Wilson that sailed high with just 50 seconds to play.

Wisconsin finished the match with 13 shots, including a team-high four from junior defender Aaron Nichols and two each from Rzepka and Lorenz.

UW faces in-state rival UW-Milwaukee Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Engelmann Field in Milwaukee.

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