Columbus, Ohio - Junior midfielder Jonathan Mendoza (Bogota, Colombia) scored two goals, including the game-winner with less than nine minutes remaining, as the Stetson men's soccer team (2-0) pulled off its first win over a Top 25 team in 11 years with a 3-2 come-from-behind win over #15 Penn State.

The Hatters had never faced a Big Ten opponent prior to today's opener of the Bert & Iris Wolstein Classic, hosted by Ohio State, and recorded the third win over a BCS conference foe in Head Coach T. Logan Fleck's five seasons. Stetson had beaten Clemson on the road in 2007 and 2008.

Stetson's last result against a Top 25 team was a 2-2 draw at #16 USF on September 4, 2004; the Hatters recorded a victory over a ranked foe for the first time since beating #6 Furman 3-2 on September 15, 2000.

Down 2-0 nearly before they could blink on goals by Julian Cardona one minute in and Minh Vu's sixth-minute penalty kick, the Hatters kept the Nittany Lions off the scoreboard for the duration of the match and ended up out-shooting PSU 14-10.

Mendoza started the comeback with an unassisted goal in the 63rd minute; Stetson tied the match 12 minutes later when senior forward Ryan Asare-Bediako (Tampa, Fla.) put home a pass from junior defender Luis Ocejo (Mexico City, Mexico) for his first goal of the season.

Stetson seized the lead at the 81:26 mark as senior midfielder Gonzalo de Mujica (Buenos Aires, Argentina) threaded a through ball from 10 yards to Mendoza's foot; his shot from the right wing deflected off goalkeeper Andrew Wolverton and into the net to give the Hatters a remarkable comeback victory.

"I'm very proud of the effort that we put out there on the field today," Coach Fleck said. "We put ourselves in a hole, being two goals down to a top 20 team, but never gave up. The shots and corner kick differentials (9-6 for Stetson) are indicative of us taking the game to them."

Fleck continued, "Our goalkeeper played very well tonight, as did our forwards and bench; our midfielders really made the difference. We're still looking to set our own standard and find our team personality as we go forward but still, there is no denying that today was a very big win for the team and our program."

De Mujica said, "We just never gave up (after the deficit) and kept fighting through it. We came together as a team tonight and pushed ourselves to come back and show Penn State we had what it takes to win."

Sophomore goalkeeper Andreas Schnabl (Blaichach, Germany) made three saves to earn the victory. The Hatters will lock horns with another top 25 opponent at 1:30 pm Sunday when they face 23rd-ranked tournament host Ohio State. Links to Live Stats are available at GoHatters.com.

FACEBOOK - Stetson Athletics; TWITTER - @StetsonSID; YOUTUBE - StetsonHatters

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