Aug. 12, 2009
Check GoPSUsports.com on Thursday evening for a photo gallery from the first day of practice.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The 2009 edition of the Penn State men's soccer team will open training camp when head coach Barry Gorman holds his first practice on Thursday afternoon. Entering his 22nd year at the helm of the Nittany Lion program, Gorman welcomes back eight starters and 18 letterwinners for the 2009 campaign.
Preseason practice will feature the highly-anticipated return of redshirt junior Andy Parr (Hummelstown, Pa.) and senior Jason Yeisley (Allentown, Pa.), who both missed the 2009 season while rehabbing knee injuries. Parr, a starter of 22 of 24 career games, will be an instrumental part of the Nittany Lion back line this season. A two-time All-Big Ten forward, Yeisley, who will serve as the team captain in 2009, is Penn State's leading returning scorer with 16 goals and 11 assists for his career. Fans can follow Yeisley's exploits throughout the 2009 season in his blog titled The Season.
Other key returners include juniors Treavor Gelsinger (Shady Grove, Pa.), Penn State's leading goal scorer in 2008, Andres Casais (Caracas, Venezuela), and Drew Cost (West Chester, Pa.) and sophomores Mark Fetrow (West Chester, Pa.), Penn State's minutes played leader a year ago, Warren Gross (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.), and MacKenzie Arment (Manheim, Pa.).
New faces will also be found at training camp. Assistant coach Isang Jacob will be in his first year on the Jeffrey Field sidelines. The Lagos, Nigeria native came to Penn State after a distinguished career at the club level in Indiana, which included being named the 2008 Youth Soccer adidas Competitive Coach of the Year for Boys. On the field, two highly-touted true freshmen, Brian Forgue (Glenmoor, Pa.), a two-time NSCAA/adidas High School Boys' All-America First Team honoree, and Rafael Faria (Miami, Fla.), the 2009 Miami Dade Player of the Year, will look to make an immediate impact.
The Nittany Lions begin preseason play on Sat., Aug. 22 when they host Duquesne in a game set for a 7 p.m. start at Jeffrey Field. Penn State will wrap up its exhibition schedule on Wed., Aug. 26 with a 6 p.m. match-up with Binghamton. The 2009 regular season kicks off for the Lions on Tues., Sept. 1 (7 p.m.) when regional rival Saint Francis visits Happy Valley.