Oct. 28, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. --Penn State men's soccer steps out of Big Ten play for a non-conference match at Penn Tuesday night at 7 p.m. The Nittany Lions have won eight of its past nine games and look for their fourth-straight road victory. Penn State clinched its second straight Big Ten title on Sunday.
| #13 PENN STATE (10-3-1, 5-0-0 Big Ten) at PENN (6-6-1, 3-0-1 Ivy League) | |
| Match 15: Oct. 29, 2013 • 7:00 p.m. • Rhodes Field • Philadelphia, Pa. | |
| VENUE | Rhodes Field (650; Grass) |
| STREAMING COVERAGE | Ivy League Digital Network ($) | Live Stats |
| SERIES RECORD vs. PENN | Penn State leads 22-6-3 |
| LAST MEETING vs. PENN | Oct. 4, 2011, PSU 2-0 (at Penn State |
| NEXT MATCH | Nov. 2 at Ohio State, 7 p.m. |
| Penn State Game Notes | |
MATCH STORIES
• Nittany Lions travel to Penn for non-conference match at Rhodes Field • Penn State's dramatic Sunday victory over Northwestern clinched fifth Big Ten title • Jordan Tyler played the role of hero, scoring game-tying and game-winning goals • Tyler leads the Big Ten during conference play in goals, points and game-winners • Drew Klingenberg and Connor Maloney assisted on PSU's goals vs. NU • Penn State has racked up a 10-2-2 record in the past 14 matches vs. Big Ten foes • Nittany Lions are 3-0-0 on the road following two road defeats in early September • Penn is on a five-match unbeaten streak (4-0-1) following comeback win over Yale • Quakers are led offensively by Duke Lacroix who has six goals and 15 points
ABOUT THE QUAKERS
Penn (6-6-1, 3-0-1 Ivy League) come into Tuesday's match as the Ivy League's first-place team ahead of its final non-conference match of the year. On Saturday, the Quakers staged a comeback over Yale, fighting from two separate deficits to force overtime. Stephen Baker tallied the game-winning goal over the Bulldogs. The victory extended Penn's unbeaten streak to five (4-0-1) following a six-game losing streak.
The Quakers average 1.77 goals per game, 29th best in the nation, led by Duke Lacroix (6 goals). Alex Neumann has a team-high four assists and Baker leads the team in shots (32) while posting nine points. In net, Tyler Kinn has seen the majority of the minutes (1,043), while posting 52 saves, a 1.47 GAA and .754 save percentage. Kinn made five crucial saves in the win against Yale.
SERIES HISTORY vs. PENN
All-Time Series: Penn State leads 22-6-3
PSU Streak: 3 wins
First Meeting: 11/30/1971, PSU 2-1
Last Meeting: 10/4/2011, PSU 2-0
Last PSU Win: 10/4/2011, 2-0
Last PENN Win: 9/24/2008, 3-0
Largest PSU Win: 5-0, 9/30/2009
Largest PENN Win: 4-0, 11/26/1973
LAST THREE MEETINGS vs. PENN
10/31/2012: Cancelled
10/4/2011: W, 2-0 - H
10/27/2010: W, 2-1 - A
9/30/2009: W, 5-0 - H
TYLER'S HEROICS CLINCH BIG TEN TITLE
No. 13 Penn State defeated No. 19 Northwestern, 2-1, Sunday afternoon in dramatic fashion to earn the program's fifth Big Ten championship. Jordan Tyler scored the game-tying and game-winning goal in overtime for the Nittany Lions.
The match seemed destined for a 1-1 draw until the 109th minute when NU's Connor Holloway's pass at midfield was intercepted by Connor Maloney, who took the ball and rushed down field. Maloney drew a Wildcat defender at the top of the penalty area and passed a perfectly placed ball to Tyler who sent it into the back of the net for his fifth goal of the year and fourth game-winner.
The goal set off a wild celebration as Penn State celebrated its second straight Big Ten title and fifth overall. The victory clinched the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament for the second straight season as well as the Lions look to complete the perfect Big Ten season with a win next week at Ohio State, a feat only accomplished by once before in Penn State men's soccer history (2005).
In a nip-and-tuck game, the Northwestern struck first in the 60th minute on a goal from super striker Joey Calistri. Cole Missimo went streaking down the left flank toward the end line and touched a ground pass to Calistri on the near post. The crafty sophomore and the Big Ten's leading scorer back heeled a clever shot into the far right side of the goal for the lead.
Penn State went into desperation mode and pressed numbers forward. It took to the eighth shot of the half to capitalize in the waning minutes as Drew Klingenberg, last week's Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, beat his defender on the left wing. He chipped a cross to Tyler whose initial header looked to be going wide but struck the thight of a Northwestern defender and went into the goal with 1:47 remaining in the second half.
TYLER EARNS BIG TEN OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR
Redshirt-junior forward Jordan Tyler was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week on Monday (Oct. 28) following his two-goal, conference clinching game over Northwestern.
Tyler has five goals for the season with four of them coming in game-winning fashion. The redshirt-junior leads the Big Ten during conference play in goals (4), points (8) and game-winning goals (3). Tyler has won the past two games for Penn State in double-overtime following his dramatic winner at Michigan State on Oct. 20 prior to his excellent showing against Northwestern. The honor for Tyler is his first Big Ten accolade of any kind, while Penn State has hauled in six Big Ten weekly honors.
STARTING FAST IN THE BIG TEN
The Nittany Lions won their first five Big Ten matches for the first time since 2005 when PSU went 6-0-0 en route to a No. 1 seed and the Big Ten Tournament championship. Penn State is 10-2-2 in its past 14 matches against Big Ten foes dating back to Nov. 9, 2011. PSU will face Ohio State on Saturday in Columbus before returning to Columbus Friday, Nov. 15 for the Big Ten Tournament semifinals as the No. 1 seed.
STINGY HOME DEFENSE
Junior goalkeeper Andrew Wolverton has allowed just 6 goals in 961 minutes of action this season (0.56 GAA), collecting 25 saves through the first nine home games (7-1-1). The netminder has made a career on clean sheets, posting 20 shutouts in 42 career starts. Wolverton set the Penn State single-season record for shutouts as a freshman (12), and is currently fifth on the PSU career shutout list.
CLIMBING THE RANKINGS
On Tuesday, Oct. 15, Penn State received its first national ranking from the NSCAA, checking at No. 17, which was the first NSCAA ranking since Sept. 25, 2012. Last week, Penn State vaulted up to 13th, while in the NCAA RPI released Monday, Oct. 28, Penn State moved up to No. 5.