UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; July 11, 2007 - Junior Ryan Badaracco (Wexford, Pa.), a key member of the Penn State defense, will miss the 2007 men's soccer season due to a knee injury suffered this summer.
Badaracco was a mainstay on the Penn State back line throughout the 2006 season. Avoiding a plague of injuries that decimated the team's ranks, he stood as one of just three Nittany Lions to start all 20 games. Badaracco scored the first goal of his collegiate career in Penn State's thrilling 2-1 double overtime victory over Northwestern at the 2006 Big Ten Championship, securing him a spot on the all-tournament team. He was also Penn State's 2006 recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award, an honor bestowed on one player from each team in the conference who best reflects the principles of sportsmanship and fair play established by the Big Ten.
Also an accomplished student, Badaracco, a finance major, was selected to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Third Team in 2006 and has been honored on the Academic All-Big Ten team after each of the last two seasons.
Senior goalkeeper Conrad Taylor (Colorado Springs, Colo.), a two-time First Team All-Big Ten honoree, will return in 2007 to lead the Penn State defense. Senior defenders Stephen Reihner (Washington, Pa.) and Geordie MacNeill (Richmond Hill, Ont.) and sophomore Andrew Parr (Hummelstown, Pa.) will also anchor the Nittany back line in 2007.
The Penn State men's soccer team begins preseason play on Mon., Aug. 20 when it hosts Georgetown at Jeffrey Field in an exhibition game set for 7 p.m. The Nittany Lions kick off the 2007 regular season on Fri., Aug. 31 when they face Syracuse in Columbus, Ohio as part of the annual Ohio State Classic.