UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - It took a perfectly placed cross in the 72nd minute for No. 23 Penn State to edge the USF men's soccer team 1-0 in the season opener on Friday evening from Jeffrey Field.

The Nittany Lions (1-0-0) broke a competitive stalemate late in the second half when Austin Maloney served a cross in from the right wing that found Mac Curran a fraction of a step ahead of the USF defense as Curran redirected the pass into the left corner of the net for the game winning score.

That pass proved the difference in an otherwise evenly matched contest that felt more like a showdown of tug-o-war between two complementary foes. Up to that point, the Dons (0-1-0) had thwarted any advance by the Penn State offense as new USF goalkeeper Ryan Buckingham pounced on would-be shots and the Dons swarmed on defense.

The Dons exhibited an aggressive approach that put Penn State on their heels all evening, they just weren't able to convert any of that offensive pressure into goals this time out.

USF freshman Sean Bowman played his part for the offense, firing off a pair of shots, including one near-miss in the first minute of play that was stabbed by Penn State keeper Matt Bersano.

Buckingham (0-1-0) was saddled with the loss, but recorded one save in his first match as a Don. Bersano (1-0-0), meanwhile, picked up the win while tallying three saves on the night.

USF held a slight 5-4 edge in shots in the contest, while each team had five corner kicks apiece.

The Dons look to bounce back as they return to action with another road contest on Sunday at West Virginia with a 9 a.m. Pacific kickoff.