Sept. 13, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 15 Penn State men's soccer team will continue its home non-conference schedule on Wednesday when it meets regional foe Saint Francis (2-2-1) in a 7 p.m. game at Jeffrey Field. The Nittany Lions are undefeated in University Park this season (3-0) and have outscored their opponents 6-0.
Penn State (4-1-0) is coming off a 3-0 home victory over defending MAAC champion Saint Peter's on Friday night. Following a lightning delay that added an hour to the halftime break, the Nittany Lions busted out for three second half goals to dispatch the Peacocks.
Sophomore forward Jordan Tyler (Rochester, Mich.) sparked the Penn State offensive surge, tallying five points on two goals and one assist. Junior forward Hasani Sinclair (Coral Gables, Fla.) scored the game winner on his second goal of the season while junior Minh Vu (Tucson, Ariz.), the team's leading scorer with seven points, registered two assists. Freshman goalkeeper Andrew Wolverton (Snellville, Ga.) recorded three saves in to earning his fourth shutout of the season.
Wolverton and Tyler were recognized with weekly honors for their standout performances in the win over Saint Peter's. Wolverton was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week while Tyler was recognized on the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week.
Saint Francis went 1-1 last week on a two-game road swing, defeating Howard, 2-1, in Washington, D.C. before falling to Loyola (Md.), 1-0, in Baltimore. The Red Flash started the 2011 season strong, tying ACC member North Carolina State, 0-0, on August 26 prior to downing Pittsburgh, 3-0, on August 29.
Junior forward Wayne Tiller tops Saint Francis in goals with two and is tied with senior midfielder Kingsley McLeod (1 goal, 2 assists) with a team-high four points. Pablo Medina, the reigning NEC Freshman of the Week, also has two assists.
Junior Darius Motazed and senior Thomas McWilliams have split time in goal, with Motazed earning the majority of the minutes and boasting the lower goals against average (0.81).
Penn State owns a perfect 9-0-0 record in its all-time series with Saint Francis. In 2010, the Nittany Lions set the Big Ten record for shots in a game versus the Red Flash, tallying 38 in a thrilling 4-3 victory at Jeffrey Field.
Fans can follow all of the action of the Penn State-Saint Francis match on the Internet with live stats and instant scoring updates from GameTracker or with a live video webcast on Penn State All-Access/Big Ten Digital Network. Find links on the official website of Nittany Lion athletics, www.GoPSUsports.com.
Penn State will make its first true road trip of the 2011 season this weekend, traveling northeast to Connecticut for a 2 p.m. match-up with Hartford on Sunday. The Nittany Lions are 1-0-1 all-time versus the Hawks, winning the teams' last meeting, a 1-0 double overtime decision in 2009.
NOTES: Freshman goalkeeper Andrew Wolverton leads the Big Ten in goals against average (0.60), shutouts (4), and shutouts per game (0.80)...Four different Nittany Lions - Hasani Sinclair, Minh Vu, Mackenzie Arment, and Julian Cardona - have scored the team's four game winning goals...Nine Nittany Lions have at least one point this season...Four Nittany Lions - Jordan Tyler, Minh Vu, Julian Cardona, and Hasani Sinclair - share the team lead in goals with two...Junior midfielder/forward Minh Vu shares the Big Ten lead in assists (3) and assists per game (0.60)...In 450 minutes of total play this season, Penn State has trailed for just 8:34...All four of Penn State's wins this year have been shutouts...Penn State is tied with Indiana for most wins (4) among Big Ten teams...Penn State leads the Big Ten in goals allowed (3), goals against average (0.60), and shutouts (4) and is tied with Northwestern for the fewest yellow cards (3)...Penn State has a 28-8 advantage in points this season. The Nittany Lions have tallied nine goals and 10 assists while opponents have totaled just three goals and two assists.
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