Sept. 23, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's soccer team (2-4-2, 0-0-0 Big Ten) will play its third consecutive game away from home on Wednesday evening when it visits Philadelphia for a 7:30 match-up with Penn (4-0-2, 0-0-0 Ivy League) at the Quakers' Rhodes Field.
Last weekend, the Nittany Lions went 0-1-1 at the University of San Francisco-hosted 2008 BMW/Nike Soccer Challenge, drawing 0-0 with Saint Mary's on Friday evening before falling 2-0 to USF on Sunday afternoon.
Penn State outshot the Gaels, 16-9, led by seven from sophomore midfielder Drew Cost (West Chester, Pa.). Sophomore goalkeeper Liam Fitzwater (Schuylkill Haven, Pa.) registered four saves to secure his third shutout of the season. However, the result was overshadowed when the already injury-depleted Penn State line-up took another hit with the loss of star defender Andres Casais (Caracas, Venezuela) to a significant injury.
Missing Casais' defensive presence against the Dons, the Nittany Lions dug themselves a hole that they could not get out of by giving up two early goals. For the first time in eight games, Penn State was outshot by its opponent.
Penn is off to a red-hot start in 2008, going undefeated through its first six games. The Quakers, who have yet to allow a goal while scoring 11, are coming off a 6-0 thrashing of Mercer at their home tournament, the Penn Soccer Classic, last weekend. The Penn State attack is fronted by senior forwards Omid Shoukoufandeh, who leads the team with three goals and six points, and Andrew Ferry (2 goals, 5 points). Freshman defender Jake Levin has also contributed a pair of goals. Senior goalkeeper Drew Healy anchors the Quaker defense. He has been perfect in 2008, earning shutouts in all six games for a 0.00 goals against average.
Penn State owns a 19-5-3 all-time record versus Penn in a historic series that dates back to 1911. A year ago, forward Jason Yeisley (Allentown, Pa.) scored the game-winning goal with just 37 seconds remaining in the second overtime period to lift the Lions to a thrilling 3-2 victory over Penn at Jeffrey Field. Prior to last season's meeting, the teams had not faced off since 1995, a 3-1 Nittany Lion win in Philadelphia.
Fans can follow all of the action from the Penn State-Penn game on the Internet with live stats and instant scoring updates. Find a link on the official website of Nittany Lion athletics, www.GoPSUsports.com.
The Nittany Lions return home to Jeffrey Field for the final time in September on Sunday the 28th when they kickoff their 2008 Big Ten schedule with a 2 p.m. game versus Michigan State (2-4-0, 0-1-0 Big Ten). In 2007, Penn State drew with Michigan State twice, making its all-time record against the Spartans 15-7-2. Early in the season, Penn State tied MSU 2-2 in the teams' regular season contest in East Lansing. The Lions returned to Michigan State's home field in November for a first round match-up at the Big Ten Championship, falling in penalty kicks, 4-3, after earning a 0-0 regulation draw.