ABINGTON, Penn. (Sept. 26, 2022) – The Penn State-Abington men's soccer team started off its game against Rutgers University-Camden here Monday afternoon as if it wanted to settle matters early.
 
The Nittany Lions launched three shots in the opening 2:38, and scored a goal at 7:01. That goal was all PSU-Abington managed, however, and the Scarlet Raptors rallied to post a 1-1 tie in the non-conference game.
 
Rutgers-Camden stands at 4-5-2, while Penn State-Abington is 3-4-2.
 
In the opening few minutes, the Nittany Lions had a shot blocked, sent another shot wide and had a third shot saved by Raptor freshman keeper Jordan Brickner. The Nittany Lions' pressure culminated in a goal by junior Michael Thomas at 7:01, scoring off passes from sophomores Eljo Agolli and JT Stone. It was the second goal of the year for Thomas.
 
Rutgers-Camden didn't get its first shot until the 12th minute, when a strike by senior forward Khari Shepherd was blocked. Seven minutes later, a shot by senior midfielder Christian McCartney forced a save out of PSU-Abington junior goalie Matt Sheldon.
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Rutgers-Camden eventually knotted the score at 30:43 on a penalty kick by freshman midfielder Tommy Monaghan. For Monaghan, it was the second goal of his young career and the second big one: his first tally was the game winner in a 2-1 victory over Whitman Sept. 10.
 
Neither team managed another score, although Rutgers-Camden had two shots blocked and four shots saved by Sheldon in the second half.
 
The Scarlet Raptors held an 11-8 advantage in shots and an 8-4 edge in corner kicks during the game. Brickner finished with two saves, while Sheldon had five.
 
The Scarlet Raptors return to action Wednesday with a 4 p.m. New Jersey Athletic Conference game at Ramapo College.