Penn State men’s soccer was ranked No. 20 in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll released Tuesday. The Nittany Lions, who are drawn with Maryland in the poll, were previously unranked.

Penn State is coming off an undefeated week to start its season, starting with a draw against No. 8 Pitt on the road. Pitt, ranked No. 5 heading into that matchup, was forced to come back and earn a 1-1 draw after Penn State’s Van Danielson opened the scoring in the 44th minute.

Following their match against Pitt, the Nittany Lions welcomed Le Moyne to Division I soccer with a 4-0 rout days later. Danielson, Peter Mangione, Atem Kato, and Caden Grabfelter all found the back of the net against the Dolphins.

Penn State’s goalkeeper Kris Shakes was also named Big Ten Defender of the Week for his eight saves on the week Tuesday. The honor was Shakes’ second time receiving the award, after being named Big Ten Defender of the Week in April 2021.

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Joe Lister

Joe, shockingly, was Onward State's managing editor from 2024-25. It was an honor. He's off employed doing journalism things, hopefully. If you want to complain about anything he's ever written, you can find him on Twitter (iamjoelister), email (jlister2021@gmail.com), or Signal (iamjoelister.93).

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