The Basics
Final Score: Penn State 2, Detroit Mercy 0
Records: Detroit Mercy 4-2-1, Penn State 2-3-2
Location: University Park, Pa. (Jeffrey Field)

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (9/20/2017) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's soccer team concluded a three-game road trip at Penn State on Wednesday night, falling to the Nittany Lions by a 2-0 margin from Jeffrey Field.

Detroit Mercy (4-2-1) and Penn State played a scoreless first half with the Titans tallying five of the first eight shots in the match. PSU got on the scoreboard just after halftime in the 51st minute with a goal just in front of the net and added its second goal 17 minutes later on a shot from near the top of the box.

The Titans had two good scoring opportunities late in the contest with freshman Demetri Pliakos hitting the crossbar and minutes later, classmate Kyle Bandyk connecting on a header off a corner kick that was saved by a diving goalkeeper on the line.

Senior forward Spiro Pliakos led the team had four of the team's 10 shots in the game, three of them in the first half. Senior goalkeeper Robbie Beckwell made two saves in the final 90 seconds of the opening half and finished the game with six saves overall. Penn State had the shot advantage, 14-10.

First Half
• Daniel Iyok pushed a shot just wide of the net 90 seconds into the match.
• Beckwell made his first save of the match just minutes later.
• Spiro Pliakos had three shots in the first 13 minutes, one of them on a free kick after he was fouled just outside the box.
• Spiro Pliakos had a diving header just two minutes later on a cross from Iyok.
• Adam Clauss put a shot wide after a cross from Tyler Moorman in the 22nd minute.
• Penn State had three looks on net in the final seven minutes of the half.
• Beckwell made a save on all three, turning away a free kick and two other shots from outside the box.

Second Half
• PSU earned two corner kicks early in the half and scored off the second, burying its first goal right in front of the net.
• Spiro Pliakos boomed a shot high of the crossbar in the 62nd minute after receiving a great pass over the defense from Mohamad Miri.
• Penn State's second goal came on a hard shot from just outside the center of the box in the 68th minute.
• Tyler Hughes had a look in the 80th minute, but pushed a shot over the crossbar.
• Demetri Pliakos followed minutes later with a look, but his shot connected with the crossbar.
• Jake Poorman had a follow-up look that was saved by the keeper.
• Bandyk had a great look on a Max Becker corner kick with a header towards the post, but the shot was saved in the 88th minute.

Titan News & Notes
• Pliakos has led or shared the team lead in shots in all but one contest in 2017.
• It was Beckwell's fifth-straight contest of making four or more saves.
• Daniel Iyok made his first collegiate start for the Titans in his second career match.
• Detroit Mercy and Penn State were meeting for the first time in men's soccer.
• It's the first of three meetings with Big Ten opponents this season.

Up Next
Detroit Mercy returns home this weekend, hosting Horizon League opponent Belmont on Saturday for a 1 p.m. ET match. It's the opener of a doubleheader with the Titan women's soccer team. Both games are set to be streamed live on ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN Applications.