Sept. 3, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's soccer team will make its first road trip of the 2009 season this weekend when the Nittany Lions travel to Columbus, Ohio for the Bert & Iris Wolstein Classic as hosted by The Ohio State University.
Penn State (1-0-0) opens on Fri., Sept. 4 by taking on Cal State Fullerton (0-0-0) in a 5 p.m. contest. The Lions will finish out tournament play against Gonzaga (1-0-0) on Sun., Sept. 6 at noon. All games will be played at the home of the Buckeyes, Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
The Nittany Lions kicked off the 2009 campaign in successful fashion on Tuesday night at Jeffrey Field, routing Saint Francis, 5-0. After not being able to convert on numerous scoring opportunities during the preseason, Penn State reversed that trend and exploded for four first half goals, all within the span of 17 minutes.
The win represented Penn State's largest margin of victory since defeating Bucknell, 7-1, on Oct. 21, 1998 and was the Lions' highest single-game goal total since posting five in a win over Villanova on Sept. 6, 2001. The season opening victory was also PSU's most dominating in exactly 11 years since the Lions' crushed Saint Francis, 8-0, on Sept. 1, 1998.
Senior forward Jason Yeisley (Allentown, Pa.) netted the first two goals of the game, with Matheus Braga (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), Drew Cost (West Chester, Pa.), and Jacobo Vera (Pamplona, Spain) tallying subsequent scores. Braga and Corey Hertzog (Reading, Pa.) each recorded two assists.
The Nittany Lion defense was also impressive, holding the Red Flash to just five shots for the game, including just two on goal. Redshirt junior Andy Parr (Hummelstown, Pa.) was key to the defense's efforts as well as goalkeeper Warren Gross (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.), who registered two saves en route to his second career shutout.
Cal State Fullerton will open its season away from the familiar confines of Titan Stadium for just the third time since 1991 when it meets Penn State in Columbus on Friday evening. The Titans, which were selected to place sixth in the Big West preseason coaches poll, return 12 letterwinners, nine freshmen who redshirted last season, and seven starters from 2008's 5-14-1 squad.
Leading the CSF attack will be senior forward Shay Spitz, who topped the Titans in scoring in each of the last two seasons, including a team-high 11 points (4 goals, 3 assists) in 2008. However, four-year head coach Bob Ammann will be without its lone returning All-Big West performer, senior Matt Sanders, who will miss the PSU match-up while serving a one-game suspension for incurring a red card in last season's finale.
Senior Mark Nelson, a 20-game starter in 2008, and sophomore goalkeeper Trevor Whiddon, who posted a 2-6-1 record in nine starts a year ago, will spearhead the Titans' defense.
Gonzaga is also off to a fast start to the 2009 campaign, whipping Trinity Western University of Langley, British Columbia, 5-1, on Tuesday at home. A goal and an assist by senior midfielder Ben Funkhouser and two converted penalty kicks fueled the Bulldog victory.
The Zags return their top goal scorer, senior forward Tye Perdido (8), from last season's 9-8-2 team and their top four scorers in Perdido (20 points), Funkhouser (12), junior forward Nick Love (9) and senior defender Tim Muravez (7). In addition, senior Scott Barnum returns in goal after seeing most of the duty in 2008, posting a 1.49 goals against average, two shutouts, and a 9-6-2 record.
Penn State owns a 3-1-0 all-time record in games versus Cal State Fullerton. The Nittany Lions last met the Titans in 2007, earning a 2-0 victory in a neutral site match-up in Los Angeles. Prior to that, in PSU's Big Ten Championship season of 2005, the Lions hosted CSF in the Penn State Nike Classic, claiming another 2-0 win.
Penn State has never faced Gonzaga in the program's 99-year history but it is no stranger to playing West Coast Conference opponents. A year ago, the Lions clashed with host San Francisco and Saint Mary's at the BMW/Nike Soccer Challenge.
Fans can follow all of the Penn State men's soccer action at the Wolstein Classic 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 will continue their 2009 home schedule next weekend by welcoming Ohio State, Hartford, and Hofstra to Jeffrey Field for the annual Penn State Classic. On the first day of competition, Fri., Sept. 11, Ohio State will take on Hartford (5 p.m.) and Penn State will face Hofstra (7:30 p.m.). Day two action, scheduled for Sun., Sept. 13, will pit Ohio State versus Hofstra (noon) and Penn State against Hartford (2:30 p.m.). Admission to the Penn State Classic and to all home men's soccer games is free.