Aug 29, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The defending Big Ten champion Penn State men's soccer team opens regular season play Friday at Jeffrey Field against Radford at 7:00 p.m. as it celebrates "International Student Night." The Nittany Lions are then scheduled to host Central Connecticut Sunday night at 7:00 p.m.
Fans are reminded that there is a strict no bag policy on stadium grounds. T-shirts will be provided to the first 500 fans in attendance.
Penn State is set to embark on the 2013 campaign after strong results in the preseason against No. 2 Maryland and Nebraska-Omaha. The Nittany Lions defeated UNO, 1-0, on a goal by Martin Seiler (Stuttgart, Germany), and then held a high-flying Terrapin offense scoreless in the run of play. Including spring games, PSU is a formidable 7-1-3 since the end of last season.
The center back tandem of seniors Akil Howard (Queens, N.Y.) and Seiler, in addition to goalkeeper Andrew Wolverton (Atlanta, Ga.), has impressed Penn State coaches early this season. The veteran trio has taken charge of the Lion defense, and held the reigning national player of the year, Patrick Mullins (Maryland), to limited opportunities in preseason.
Freshman Mark Wadid (Mississaugua, Ontario) has shown flashes of brilliance throughout the preseason from the striker position, and displayed his composure in the final third with a goal against Maryland. Wadid has paired well with junior forward Jordan Tyler (Rochester, Mich.).
Radford is primed to have a strong season in 2013 after placing second in the Big South Conference last season with a 7-2-1 record (10-6-4 overall). The Highlanders earned an impressive result last week with a 2-1 exhibition defeat of Virginia Tech. The squad is led by senior forward Bernardo Ulmo, who had 11 goals and 25 points last season.
Penn State and Radford have met just one time in history, as the Nittany Lions were victorious in a 3-1 overtime match on September 3, 1990 at Jeffrey Field.
Shaun Green is back for his 29th season as head coach of Central Connecticut, a side selected to finish second in the Northeast Conference according to the preseason coaches' poll. Despite losing NEC Player of the Year Reece Wilson, the Blue Devils return their third-leading scorer from a season ago, Eddy Bogle.
This is the inaugural meeting between Penn State and Central Connecticut.