Oct. 22, 2007
> Tuesday's Live Webcast
Penn State-Cornell Game Notes
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Just three days after battling Big Ten rival Wisconsin to a 3-3 double overtime tie, the Penn State men's soccer team (4-7-3) will return to the Jeffrey Field pitch to clash with non-conference foe Cornell (5-5-1) in a rare Tuesday evening match-up. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
With leading scorer Jason Yeisley (Allentown, Pa.) on the shelf for the remainder of the season with a knee injury, head coach Barry Gorman has been looking for a team effort to help fill the offensive void. On Saturday night at Jeffrey Field, he got just that, as five different players recorded points versus the Badgers. Sophomores Jacobo Vera (Pamplona, Spain) and Vincent Salvatico (Chester Springs, Pa.) each scored his third goal of the season while freshman Casey Derkacz (Hamburg, N.Y.) notched his first career goal on a diving header. Freshman forward Treavor Gelsinger (Shady Grove, Pa.) and junior midfielder Barkley Miller (New Freedom, Pa.) each registered an assist.
Senior defender Geordie MacNeill (Richmond Hill, Ont.), who had missed all but three games this season with a knee injury, saw extensive playing time versus Wisconsin. After being inserted into the line-up in the first half, he helped shut down the Badger attack, allowing the Nittany Lions to rally from a two-goal deficit. Sophomore midfielder Daniel Martini (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) also returned after missing the last five games with a groin injury.
After beginning the season 5-2-0, Cornell is 0-3-1 in its last four games, including losses to top 10 opponents and Ivy League rivals Harvard (4-1) and Brown (3-1). The Big Red attack is headlined by sophomore forward Matt Bouraee (6 goals, 3 assists) and senior midfielder Brian Kuritzky (5 goals, 2 assists). Together, the duo has accounted for 27 of Cornell's 45 points this season. Junior goalkeeper Luca Cerretani anchors the defense with a 1.58 goals against average and two shutouts.
Penn State possesses an 8-2-3 record in its all-time series with Ivy League member Cornell. In the Nittany Lions' last meeting with the Big Red in 2005, Jason Yeisley and Geordie MacNeill netted goals to lift PSU to a 2-1 victory in Ithaca, N.Y.
Fans can follow all of the action of the Penn State-Cornell game on the Internet with live stats and instant scoring updates from Gametracker or with live webcast audio and video from Jeffrey Field. Loren Crispell will provide play-by-play with former Penn State player David Gray supplying color commentary. Click on the gametrack PSU link on the official website of Nittany Lion athletics, www.GoPSUsports.com, to gain instant access.
The Big Ten's most heated rivalry will renew once again next weekend when the Nittany Lions travel to Bloomington, Ind. to battle No. 16 Indiana (9-4-2, 3-0-1) in a pivotal Big Ten match-up on Sun., Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast live from Bill Armstrong Stadium to a national television audience on the Big Ten Network. Penn State has taken three of the last four meetings with the Hoosiers, including a 1-0 regular season victory at Jeffrey Field a year ago in a game aired by the Fox Soccer Channel.