Oct. 5, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's soccer team will begin a crucial three-game home stand on Wednesday evening when it hosts Villanova (6-3-1, 2-0-0 BIG EAST) in a 7 p.m. match-up of intrastate opponents at Jeffrey Field. The Nittany Lions, which enter the contest at 6-3-0, including a 2-2 mark at home and a 6-1 record versus non-conference foes, will look to gain momentum as the second half of the 2010 season gets underway.
Last weekend, junior forward Corey Hertzog (Reading, Pa.) scored his Big Ten-leading 10th goal of the season and the Penn State defense held Michigan to just six total shots but it was not enough, as the Nittany Lions fell to the Wolverines, 2-1, on Sunday at the U-M Soccer Stadium in Ann Arbor. Hertzog, the NCAA leader in goals and points, won his head-to-head battle with Michigan's top scorer, freshman Soony Saad, but Penn State dropped its first road decision of the season and second straight Big Ten contest. The Nittany Lion defense surrendered the two goals but held the Wolverines well below their season average in shots (25.44) and Saad, the conference's shot per game leader (7.56), to zero.
Winners of five of its last six games, Villanova enters Wednesday's game coming off a 3-1 come-from-behind conference victory over DePaul in Chicago on Oct. 2. Freshman forward Dylan Renna and junior defender Kevin Garcia share the team lead with three goals each while four different players have accounted for the Wildcats' four total assists. Senior goalkeeper Chris Bresnahan has started eight of Villanova's nine games, recording 44 saves and three shutouts while compiling a 1.08 goals against average.
Penn State holds a 7-1-1 record in its all-time series with Villanova, including a 1-0 home victory in their last meeting with the Wildcats on Halloween in 2007. Penn State is a perfect 6-0 at Jeffrey Field versus Villanova, outscoring it by a combined 18-5 margin.
Fans can follow all of the action of the Penn State-Villanova match on the Internet with live stats and instant scoring updates from GameTracker or with a live video webcast on BigTenNetwork.com. Find links on the official website of Nittany Lion athletics, www.GoPSUsports.com.
The Nittany Lions will finish out a three-game home stand next week with marquee match-ups against Big Ten contender No. 11 Michigan State (Sun., Oct. 10) and 2009 NCAA runner-up No. 1 Akron (Wed., Oct. 13). The Nittany Lions defeated the Spartans last season, 1-0, in East Lansing, upping their all-time series record to 17-8-2. Penn State is 13-12-5 versus Akron but has gone winless versus the Zips in their last five meetings, including last season's 3-0 road loss.