Soccer: Men's
Minutillo working on getting back to match fitness
In his first season at Penn State, transfer Mikey Minutillo has faced many obstacles while battling injuries.
After suffering a sprained right MCL in late August against Hartford, the junior was forced to sit out three games and the attacker struggled with his match fitness. Minutillo played 45 minutes in his return against Albany on Sept. 14.
When Minutillo has been on the field, the Lions' offense has thrived as the 6-foot-1 attacker has created opportunities up top with his clever through balls, often playing to forward Julian Cardona.
Minutillo has one goal and an assist in eight games this season.
The attacker continued to struggle with his fitness as he missed games against Michigan and Akron in early October due to the nagging injury.
Minutillo returned against Michigan State and helped the offense up top in his 52 minutes of play. While he did not register a shot, the junior's presence helped open up space for midfielder Daniel Burnham to get in behind defense and score the first goal in the 20th minute.
With a midweek game against Bucknell on Wednesday -- the team's fourth game in 11 days -- coach Bob Warming hopes that Minutillo can build on a positive game against the Spartans.
“I thought Mikey's fitness is not good enough yet but he and Julian, we looked like a different team when those two guys were in,” Warming said. “Julian and Mikey were unbelievable in the first 25 minutes.”