Oct. 2, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's soccer team (6-3-1, 1-0-0 Big Ten) will look to build on momentum gained from a successful home stand when it heads back out on the road this weekend for a crucial conference showdown with Michigan State (5-2-1, 0-1-0 Big Ten) in East Lansing. The measuring stick game, which is scheduled for Sun., Oct. 4 at noon at the Spartans' DeMartin Stadium, will be aired live on the Big Ten Network.
The Nittany Lions enter Sunday's contest brimming with confidence gained from a 5-0 rout of Penn on Wednesday night at Jeffrey Field. Senior forward Jason Yeisley (Allentown, Pa.) led the PSU attack, scoring his fifth and team-high sixth goal of the season. Junior midfielder Drew Cost (West Chester, Pa.) netted his career best third goal of the year and senior midfielder Diego Correa (Niteroi, Brazil) and freshman forward Rafael Faria (Miami, Fla.) each tallied his first career goal. Sophomore forward Corey Hertzog (Reading, Pa.), the reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, notched two assists, one on each of Yeisley's two goals.
The Penn State defense played brilliantly against the Quakers, limiting them to just one shot on goal, helping redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Warren Gross (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) record his Big Ten leading fifth shutout of the season.
The scoring explosion versus Penn marks the third time this season that Penn State has posted five goals in a home win. The Lions have outscored their opponents, 19-2, this season inside the friendly confines of Jeffrey Field. With 22 goals on the season, the Nittany Lions have tallied more goals in 10 games than it did all of last year (20) in 19 contests.
Defending Big Ten champion Michigan State snapped a two-game losing streak on Wednesday by downing Valparaiso at home, 2-0. Sophomore forward Rubin Bega, the Spartans' leading scorer with five, netted both goals in the win. Twin brothers Domenic (2 goals, 3 assists) and Mark Barone (2 goals, 2 assists), Jeff Ricondo (2 goals, 2 assists), and Spencer Thompson (1 goal, 2 assists) also key the MSU attack. The Spartans' defense boasts one of the conference's top goalkeepers in Avery Steinlage. He owns a Big Ten best 0.37 goals against average and has four shutouts to his credit.
Penn State is 15-8-2 in its series with Michigan State, including last season's 4-3 loss at Jeffrey Field. The last two meetings between the teams in East Lansing have gone to overtime, with PSU earning a 1-0-1 mark. In its four appearances on the Big Ten Network over the last two seasons, Penn State has posted a 1-3 record.
In addition to the televised broadcast by the BTN, fans can follow all of the action of the Penn State-Michigan State match-up on the Internet with live stats and instant scoring updates from Gametracker. Find a link 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.
The Nittany Lions return to action next weekend when it hosts No. 25 Northwestern (4-1-3, 0-0-0 Big Ten) at Jeffrey Field on Sun., Oct. 11 at 2 p.m. Penn State has dominated the all-time series, holding a 21-3-1 record, but fell to the Wildcats twice last year, once in the regular season (2-1 at Evanston) and once in the postseason at the Big Ten Championship (2-1 in double overtime). The last time the Lions welcomed NU to Happy Valley, in 2007, the Wildcats couldn't uphold their No. 3 national ranking and were sent away 2-1 losers.