Sept. 11, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
By Matt Allibone, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- Penn State men's soccer head coach Bob Warming likes to compare the ascension a program makes over a number of years to someone climbing a mountain.
A year after guiding the Nittany Lions to the Sweet 16, Warming believes his team has the top of the mountain in sight. On Saturday, Penn State will face a team that has been there recently.
Indiana, the 2012 NCAA National Champions, will host the Nittany Lions at legendary Bill Armstrong stadium in both team's Big Ten opener. Although they are coming off a disappointing 8-12-2 season, the Hoosiers have gotten off to a 3-0-1 start this year, the same as Penn State.
"We know our conference is amazing," Warming said. "The venue is going to be terrific for it. They have some super talented players. The big pieces are there and the little pieces that still cause you problems...they've got a lot of weapons."
Although the Hoosiers have graduated last year's top three leading point scorers, they return a collection of young talent. Sophomore Tanner Thompson is a dangerous playmaker who can play forward or midfield and junior Femi Hollinger-Janzen, who tied for the team lead in goals last season with five, offers similar versatility.
Sophomore goalie Colin Webb has gotten off to a fast start in his first season as the team's full-time starter, allowing just one goal in the Hoosiers first four games.
Still, the Nittany Lions have recent history on their side, having defeated the Hoosiers 2-0 in Bloomington last season.
"In the past they've played better soccer than us but I think we play a much quicker style now and they're the one's that lump it a little more," senior defender Owen Griffith said. "I think that's going to help us.
"[The atmosphere] is good and it's just like here. They've got a ton of kids lining the sideline and the band going so it's going to feel just like home, except the fans are going to be cheering for them instead of us."
Griffith had perhaps the highlight of his career last season against the Hoosiers when he scored a goal from 18-feet out to give the Nittany Lions a 2-0 lead in their eventual victory. Still, he has not forgotten how difficult an opponent Indiana has been over his four years in blue and white.
The Nittany Lions fell to Hoosiers in 2012 and 2011, Griffith's first two years at Penn State. In Warming's five years in Happy Valley, the Lions are 2-3 against the Hoosiers.
"They're historically a really big rival of ours," Griffith said. "[Beating them last year] was a big statement for us. It's going to be a battle this year...they lost a bunch of guys but they're still looking pretty tough."
One player who will be particularly amped on Saturday is midfielder Christian Kaschak, who missed last season with a torn ACL and has never set foot inside Armstrong Stadium.
"Just hearing what the guys had to say [about Armstrong Stadium], it seems incredible," Kaschak said. "Their fan base is amazing and historically they're a tremendous team...you always want to go there and show them what we have."
Even coming off of consecutive Big Ten regular season titles, the Nittany Lions still view the Hoosiers as the pinnacle of where they want to be.
Hoosiers coach Todd Yeagley is entering his fifth year at Indiana, the same amount of time Warming has been at Penn State, and the Blue and White want to give their coach the national title their rival has won.
"Coach Warming has only been here a couple of years now and I think it's his idea to get Penn State to be one of those nationally acclaimed programs like Indiana," Griffith said. "We want to be consistently at the top of the country in soccer."
Warming Marvels at 1954-'55 Championship Teams' Reunion
Bob Warming couldn't help but think about the future last Friday as his Nittany Lions defeated Temple 1-0.
Not just the rest of his team's season, but the future of his players in general. With members of Penn State's 1954-'55 national championship team in attendance to celebrate the 60th anniversary of their first title, there were plenty of emotions being felt all night.
"I told our guys, `I want you to think about, if we win [the NCAA Championship] this year, what will the world be like in 2074,'" Warming said. "That's when we would be celebrating again. Think about the changes that those men have seen, and that their families have seen in the last 60 years."
Fifteen players from the two teams made it back for the game, which included a halftime ceremony in front of 4,052 fans. The group was honored again the next day at Beaver Stadium during the football team's 21-3 victory over Akron.
"How special it is for them to come back and see 4,000 people in the stands," Warming said. "With this kind of atmosphere, and this kind of quality soccer and this kind of quality field. I'm just so happy that so many of them are alive and well and healthy enough to travel and come here and enjoy the game."
Andrew Stelnyk, a defender on those teams and a native Ukrainian, spoke about the experience of seeing his old teammates, as well as being back on campus.
"It's a great time to be here," Stelnyk said. "The change over here is unbelievable. All of us are getting older but the spirit is still here, there is no question about it."