Aug. 28, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's soccer team will see its first action of the 2008 regular season this weekend when the Nittany Lions travel to Columbus, Ohio to take part in the Bert and Iris Wolstein Soccer Classic as hosted by The Ohio State University. Penn State opens on Fri., Aug. 29 by taking on Central Florida in a 5 p.m. contest. The Lions will finish out tournament play against Florida Gulf Coast on Sun., Aug. 31 at noon. All games will be played at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on the Ohio State campus.
When 21-year head coach Barry Gorman leads his Nittany Lions against Central Florida on Friday evening, he will be seeking his 250th victory at Penn State. Gorman, the 2005 Big Ten Coach of the Year, is already the program's winningest coach with a career record of 249-139-37. During that span, the three-time NSCAA Regional Coach of the Year has guided the Lions to 12 NCAA postseason appearances, captured three Big Ten championships, and coached 41 First Team All-Big Ten selections.
The Nittany Lions head into the 2008 regular season after posting a 0-1-1 record in exhibition action, despite dominating possession in both contests and outshooting its opponents by a combined total of 30-7. Penn State dropped its exhibition opener on Aug. 13 to Marshall by a score of 1-0 before drawing with Pitt, 2-2, on Aug. 23 in the preseason finale. Two newcomers, junior Matheus Braga (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and freshman Corey Hertzog (Reading, Pa.), accounted for Penn State's goals versus Pitt. Warren Gross (Greenfield Center, N.Y.) and Liam Fitzwater (Schuylkill Haven, Pa.), who are waging a battle for the starting goalkeeper spot, split time evenly between the pipes over the two games.
Central Florida is coming off a 4-12-2 2007 season, including a winless run through the Conference USA schedule (0-6-2). Second year head coach Bryan Cunningham suffered significant offensive losses from that team, as players who accounted for 16 of the Golden Knights' 24 goals have graduated. Couple that with 18 newcomers to the UCF program and questions abound. However, two key pieces to the Golden Knight puzzle return for 2008 in senior forward Ryan Roushandel and sophomore goalkeeper Sean Johnson. Roushandel led UCF is goals (8), points (17), and game winning goals (3) in 2007. Johnson started 17 of 18 games in goal as a freshman, recording 83 saves. Central Florida went 0-1 in the preseason, falling to the College of Charleston, 2-1, in a game played with three 45-minute periods.
In its inaugural season, Florida Gulf Coast, located in Fort Myers, Fla., posted a 8-10-1 record in 2007, including a 3-5-1 mark in Atlantic Sun Conference play. Eight letterwinners and six starters return to a team selected to place fifth in the A-Sun preseason poll. Sophomore forward Matt O'Shaughnessy is FGCU's leading returning scorer after tallying four goals in 2007. Goalkeeper Adam Glick, a 19-game starter a year ago as a freshman, returns to lead the defense. The Eagles' roster also includes two highly touted freshmen in defender Kevin Ante and midfielder Cristian Raudales who were recently named to collegesoccernews.com's "100 Freshmen Keep an Eye on in 2008" list. Florida Gulf Coast went 0-0-2 in preseason play, tying Eckerd College, 1-1, and Barry University, 2-2.
Penn State has not played either of this weekend's opponents throughout its 97-year history. Central Florida has sponsored a men's soccer program since 1975 but did not make the move to Division I until 1984. The Golden Knights have only faced two Big Ten opponents a total of twice all-time, Indiana in 1998 (1-0 loss) and Wisconsin in 1989 (2-1 loss). The Florida Gulf Coast men's soccer program is in just its second year of existence but the Eagles' head coach, Bob Butehorn, is no stranger to east region soccer, having served as head coach at St. Bonaventure and as an assistant coach at Penn and Maryland.
Fans can follow the action against UCF and Florida Gulf Coast on their computers with live stats and instant scoring updates. Find a link on the official website of Nittany Lion athletics, www.GoPSUsports.com.
The Nittany Lions will open their 2008 home schedule next weekend by welcoming Ohio State, Bucknell, and Tulsa to Jeffrey Field for the annual Penn State Classic. On the first day of competition, Fri., Sept. 5, No. 9 Ohio State will take on Bucknell (5 p.m.) and Penn State will face No. 23 Tulsa (7:30 p.m.). Day two action, scheduled for Sun., Sept. 7, will pit Ohio State versus Tulsa (noon) and Penn State against Bucknell (3:30 p.m.). Both Sunday games will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network. Admission to the Penn State Classic and to all home men's soccer games is free.