Oct. 13, 2009
Senior forward Jason Yeisley has been named a finalist for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, an honor that recognizes excellence in four areas - classroom, community, character, and competition. Fans can vote for Yeisley EVERY DAY by texting M9 to 74567 and by visiting www.seniorclassaward.com. Fan balloting, which counts for 1/3 of the final vote, continues until Nov. 13.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 24-ranked Penn State men's soccer team (7-3-2) will defend its undefeated 2009 home record when in-state foe Lafayette (7-2-1) visits Jeffrey Field on Wed., Oct. 14 for a 7 p.m. game. The Nittany Lions boast a 5-0-2 mark in University Park this season, outscoring its opponents, 20-3.
Last weekend, Penn State maintained its place atop the Big Ten standings with a 1-1 tie against No. 21 Northwestern. The Nittany Lions dominated possession, outshooting the Wildcats, 28-16, including a game-high nine by senior forward Jason Yeisley (Allentown, Pa.) but could not convert on numerous scoring opportunities. After Penn State gave up its first goal in conference play this season in the 85th minute, sophomore forward Corey Hertzog (Reading, Pa.) netted the equalizer, firing in a penalty kick with just 39 seconds remaining in the game.
Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Warren Gross (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) recorded a season-high seven saves in the draw. His streak of holding opponents scoreless ended at 357:35 when NU found net late in the game. Gross currently leads the Big Ten in shutouts (tie, 6) and goals against average (0.52).
Lafayette had a three game unbeaten streak snapped in its last outing, falling to Patriot League rival American, 2-1, in double overtime. The Lafayette attack, which has scored 12 goals in 11 games, features just five players who have earned points. Headlining the offense is freshman midfielder Sean Peckham (4 goals, 2 assists) and junior forward B.J. Glenn (4 goals, 1 assist). The Leopards' greatest strength lies in their defense, which has recorded seven shutouts and allowed just 10 goals in 10 games. Goalkeeper Philip Nelson has six of those seven clean sheets to his credit and boasts a 0.74 goals against average.
Penn State and Lafayette have had two common opponents this season, Lehigh and Northwestern. Lafayette beat archrival Lehigh at home on Oct. 3, 1-0, but fell to Northwestern on the road on Sept. 2, 2-1. Penn State played both teams to a 1-1 draw at Jeffrey Field.
Penn State owns a 27-2-1 record in the all-time series with Lafayette. The teams' last meeting took place in 2007 in University Park and ended deadlocked in a 1-1 tie. Prior to that match-up, the Nittany Lions and Leopards had not played since 1997, a 3-0 PSU victory at Jeffrey Field.
Fans can follow all of the action of the Penn State-Lafayette match-up on the Internet with live stats and instant scoring updates from Gametracker or with a live audio and video webcast on Penn State All Access. Find links on the official website of Nittany Lion athletics, www.GoPSUsports.com.
Penn State men's soccer supporters can also keep up-to-date on the team throughout the season with exclusive notes, information, and photos by way of Twitter. Go to twitter.com and search psusportsjr to become a follower.
This weekend, the Nittany Lions continue conference play when they travel to Columbus, Ohio for a 2:00 p.m. match-up with Ohio State (7-2-3, 1-1-0 Big Ten) on Sun, Oct. 18. Penn State is 14-8-2 all-time versus the Buckeyes, with its last win at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium coming in the Lions' Big Ten Championship season of 2005, a 1-0 decision. A year ago, Penn State got two goals from Corey Hertzog and one from Vincent Salvatico (Chester Springs, Pa.) to down then-No. 17 Ohio State, 3-2, at Jeffrey Field.