Oct. 18, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's soccer team will begin a four-game road stretch on Wednesday when it travels to Baltimore to take on America East frontrunners UMBC (7-3-3) in a non-conference contest set for 7 p.m. at Retriever Soccer Park.
Over the next two weeks, the Nittany Lions will log nearly 1,700 miles of round trip travel as it plays road games in four different states. Penn State will then face conference leader Wisconsin in its home finale on November 5 before trekking to Ann Arbor, Mich. for the 2011 Big Ten Tournament.
Penn State (6-6-2) dropped its third consecutive 1-0 decision on Sunday, falling to Northwestern, 1-0, at Jeffrey Field. Playing without leading scorer Julian Cardona (Lincoln, Neb.), who was forced to sit the game after being tagged with a red card in Wednesday's loss to Akron, the Lions outshot the Wildcats, 12-6, but could not convert on their scoring opportunities. Junior forward Hasani Sinclair (Coral Gables, Fla.) led Penn State with five shots while junior midfielder John Gallagher (Pine Bush, N.Y.) generated repeated chances with dangerous crosses. Freshman goalkeeper Andrew Wolverton (Snellville, Ga.) made two saves, including a brilliant one-on-one stop in the first half, in his 14th consecutive start.
UMBC enters Sunday's contest riding a five-game unbeaten streak, including three straight shutout victories. The Retrievers, which sit atop the America East standings with a 4-0-0 record, possess a 4-1-3 mark at home, with their one loss coming at the hands of No. 3 Maryland.
Sophomore forward Pete Caringi III, son of UMBC head coach Peter Caringi Jr, leads the Retrievers in goals (4), assists (5), and points (13). Two-time All-America East forward Andrew Bulls (3 goals, 2 assists), Kingsley Onwuka (3 goals,1 assist), and Sean Rothe (3 goals, 1 assist) also key the UMBC attack.
Senior goalkeeper Dan Louisignau has had a strong season between the pipes, recording seven shutouts while compiling a 0.82 goals against average.
A year ago, Penn State met UMBC for the first time in program history, with the Retrievers coming away with a 2-1 at Jeffrey Field. After sitting out the first half, Corey Hertzog came off the bench to net his 14th goal of the season in the 76th minute but UMBC scored late in the first overtime to secure the upset win.
Fans can also follow all of the action of the Penn State-UMBC match on the Internet with live stats and instant scoring updates. Find a link on the official website of Nittany Lion athletics, www.GoPSUsports.com.
Penn State continues its travels this weekend, visiting Columbus for a 2 p.m. Big Ten clash with Ohio State (7-5-2, 2-1-0) on Sunday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The Buckeyes have the week off after posting a scoreless draw with Valparaiso on October 16. The Nittany Lions won last season's meeting in overtime, 2-1, to up its all-time record versus Ohio State to 15-10-2.