Madison, Wis., Nov. 9, 2001 The thirteenth-ranked Penn State men¡¯s soccer team fell to Michigan State, 2-1, Friday, Nov. 9, in the semifinal of the Big Ten Tournament, being held at the University of Wisconsin. Penn State falls to 13-4-1 overall, 5-2-1 in conference play.

Senior Hermann Trophy candidate and unanimous first team All-Big Ten selection Ricardo Villar (Sao Paulo, Brazil) started the scoring for Penn State, when he knocked a penalty kick in at 15:16. The goal was Villar¡¯s ninth of the season, and gives him 81 career points, which is tied for 11th on the all-time list. This goal proved to be the lone scoring mark for the Lions.

Michigan State started out the second half scoring with a goal at 46:55 by Steve Arce from Brett Konley to tie the score at 1-1. The Spartans struck again in the 69th minute when Thomas Trivelloni scored the go-ahead goal.

Junior goalkeeper Ryan Sickman (Hudson, Ohio) received a red card in the first half of the contest for playing a ball outside of the box. This penalty will prevent him from playing in the championship game on Sunday. Replacing Sickman will be sophomore Eric Earnhardt (Winchester, Va.) who began the first half of the season as the primary goalkeeper for the Nittany Lions. Earnhardt has allowed six goals and made 10 saves in his contests played.

The NCAA selection show will be airing on Monday, Nov. 19 on Fox Sports Pittsburgh.