Sept. 15, 2014
| #16 PENN STATE vs. SAINT FRANCIS | |
| Tuesday, Sept. 16 at 7 p.m. | |
| Jeffrey Field | University Park, Pa. | |
| MATCH DAY CENTRAL |
TV: ESPN2 -->Live Video on BTN Plus ($) |
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| INSIDE THE NUMBERS | ||
| PSU | SFU | |
| 4-0-1 | Overall Record | 3-2-0 |
| 1-0-0 | Conference Record | 0-0-0 |
| 7 | Goals Scored | 6 |
| 1 | Goals Allowed | 6 |
| 1.40 | Goals Scored/gm. | 1.20 |
| 0.20 | Goals Allowed/gm. | 1.20 |
| 29-69 | Shots on Goal-Attempts | 25-47 |
| 13.8 | Shots/gm. | 9.4 |
| 9 | Assists | 6 |
| 19 | Corner Kicks | 24 |
| 15 | Saves | 21 |
| 4 | Shutouts | 3 |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State men's soccer and Saint Francis will meet for the 12th time on Tuesday night at Jeffrey Field. Admission is free for all as is parking for the 7 p.m. contest.
MATCH STORIES
• Nittany Lions host Saint Francis Tuesday night for the 12th time
• Penn State looks to improve upon its 218-46-24 record against Pennsylvania teams
• Nittany Lions coming off 1-0 win at No. 11 Indiana on Saturday night
• Mason Klerks scored the game-winner in the 27th, his first college goal
• Saint Francis is 3-2-0, winning all 3 matches in shutout fashion
• PSU is undefeated in its first five matches for the first time since 2004
• Connor Maloney leads the Nittany Lions with 4 goals
ABOUT THE RED FLASH
The Saint Francis Red Flash (3-2-0) enter Tuesday's game on a two-game winning streak following a pair of 1-0 wins over West Virginia (Sept. 7) and William & Mary (Sept. 12).
The key to SFU's success in the early going has been its defense. When it's on and pitching a shutout, it's 3-0-0 (plus-4 goal differential). When the defense is leaking goals, it's 0-2-0, giving up an average of three goals in the two losses.
Six different members have a goal this year with Bryan Cause (1g, 2a) and Pablo Medina (3a) pacing the offense. In net, Andrew Garcia has all five starts with a 1.25 GAA, .760 save percentage and three shutouts.
SERIES HISTORY vs. SFU
All-Time Series: PSU leads 10-1-0
PSU Streak: 1 loss
First Meeting: 9/7/93; PSU 3-0
Last Meeting: 10/2/13; SFU 1-0 (2OT)
Last PSU Win: 9/13/11; PSU 1-0
Last SFU Win: 10/2/13; 1-0 (2OT)
Last Draw: n/a
Largest PSU Win: 8-0; 9/1/98
Largest SFU Win: 1-0 (2OT); 10/2/13
KEYSTONE STATE DOMINANCE
Penn State holds a hefty 218-46-24 (.799) all-time record against the current Division I teams in Pennsylvania. Penn State has the most all-time wins against Bucknell (59) and has unblemished marks against five other squads (Duquesne, La Salle, Robert Morris and Saint Joseph's). Four Pennsylvania teams are on the schedule in 2014: Temple, Saint Francis, Bucknell and Penn.
PSU Records vs. Pennsylvania D-I Teams
Bucknell: 59-8-4
Drexel: 3-1-0
Duquesne: 2-0-0
Lafayette: 29-2-1
La Salle: 2-0-0
Lehigh: 12-3-4
Penn: 23-6-3
Pittsburgh: 22-6-3
Robert Morris: 4-0-0
Saint Francis: 10-1-0
Saint Joseph's: 4-0-0
Temple: 40-18-8
Villanova: 8-1-1
NITTANY LIONS KNOCK OFF #11 INDIANA
After 35 years of failing to shut out the Hoosiers at Armstrong Stadium, the Nittany Lions pulled it off for a second time in as many years on Saturday night, winning 1-0. The 16th-ranked Nittany Lions used a 27th-minute precision strike from Mason Klerks, his first career goal, and frustrating defense to keep the 11th-ranked Hoosiers scoreless for a third straight match in the series.
Brian James set up Klerks on a corner kick to the top of the penalty arc as Klerks right-footed a perfectly placed shot into the upper left corner of the net for the 1-0 lead. The goal would stand as PSU held Indiana to just two shots on net, backup netminder Evan Finney stopped both in his first collegiate start. Penn State's win snapped Indiana's 23-year unbeaten streak in Big Ten openers.
KLERKS DELIVERS BIG TEN HONOR
Mason Klerks earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for his wonderstrike against Indiana, and playing a pivotal role in the Nittany Lion defense. Klerks tallied his first career goal on Saturday, while PSU held the Hoosiers to just two shots on goal en route to a fourth shutout of the season. The award is Klerks' second Big Ten honor following his 2013 All-Big Ten Rookie Team selection. PSU leads the league in shutouts (4) and goals against (1), while surging to the best overall record (4-0-1) and tied atop the standings (1-0-0).
WELCOME TO THE SHOW, EVAN: PART II
Before Monday night's unexpected appearance at James Madison, Evan Finney's collegiate stat line read like Mike Titus's Club Trillion blog: lots of zeroes.
Finney, a sophomore, didn't play a minute last year as Andrew Wolverton saw all the action, and thus far, PSU has seen Wolverton in net for everything, until the 54th minute on Monday. When Wolverton was sent off, Finney went in cold and in the 77th minute, would face his first shot on goal: a penalty kick. Finney deftly met Josh Grant's attempt and kept PSU ahead, 1-0, the first of four saves on the vening. Finney played 56-plus minutes an is expected to make his Big Ten debut on Saturday at Indiana.
UNDEFEATED IN FIRST FIVE SINCE `04
The 16th-ranked Nittany Lions have started 4-0-1 in 2014, the first time since 2004 that they went undefeated in the first four matches. In 2004, Penn State started with draws against No. 6 North Carolina and No. 8 Wake Forest before beating Georgetown, drawing No. 2 St. John's and winning four straight against Virginia Tech, Akron, Tulsa and SMU. Ultimately, the 2004 team started the year 5-0-4 before their nine-game unbeaten streak ended against No. 6 Indiana, 2-1.
JEFFREY FIELD DOMINANCE
In the 42-year history of the stadium, Jeffrey Field has welcomed 520,879 fans through its gates, including a season-high 4,052 5,944 this past weekend in wins over Oakland and St. John's. Penn State has enjoyed success at Jeffrey Field with over 300 victories at the famed field. Impressively, the Nittany Lions have never posted a losing season at Jeffrey Field, going 309-77-34 all-time for a winning percentage of .776. Last season, PSU went 8-1-1 and since 2012 the Nittany Lions are 18-3-3 (.813) with a pair of Big Ten titles.
STINGY HOME DEFENSE
At Jeffrey Field, the Nittany Lions are known to keep a tight lid on their own net. Senior goalkeeper Andrew Wolverton has allowed just 6 goals in 1,321 minutes of action since the beginning of 2013 (0.41 GAA), collecting 35 saves through those 13 home games (11-1-1). The lone loss? Last year vs. Saint Francis.
COACHING CLOUT
Among the elite coaches in the sport for the last three decades, head coach Bob Warming is back for his fifth season at Penn State. Warming has an incredible coaching pedigree, including 431 career Division I victories -- third all-time among active DI coaches and ninth all-time at D-I. He was named Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2012 and 2013 after leading PSU to a pair of league titles.
At Penn State, Warming is 49-28-11, which means he's going for his 50th win for the Blue and White on Tuesday.
MALONEY MASHES MARKERS
Sophomore Connor Maloney found his scoring groove at the end of 2013, notching a pair of wonder strikes from distance against nationally ranked Akron and UC Santa Barbara on the road. His scoring didn't taper off to start 2014, tallying four goals in four games, including his first two-goal affair vs. St. John's (Aug. 31), to pace the Nittany Lion attack.
Dating back to last season, Maloney has six goals in his past 10 matches and has accounted for six of PSU's last 10 goals. Also noteworthy is that Maloney has scored four goals on just nine shots for a remarkable .444 shooting percentage in the early going.
WOLVIE WATCH 2014
The Nittany Lions feature one of the top goalkeepers in the nation with senior Andrew Wolverton patrolling the goal area. The 2013 Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year and NSCAA All-Great Lakes First Team honoree has returned with a pair of career Penn State records in his sights.
Wolverton currently sits first in PSU records in goals-against average (0.72), while he's second in shutouts (26). Already the single-season record holder in shutouts, Wolverton can eclipse the career record with four more shutouts in 2014. As for GAA, Wolverton looks to break Whit Gibson's mark of 0.78 set during his two seasons in Happy Valley (1998-99). Wolverton's save percentage is also impressive at .801 to back up a 29-17-8 career record in net.
MACK BRADY MEMORIAL GAME
On Sunday, Sept. 21, the Nittany Lions will host its second Mack Brady Memorial Game when Ohio State visits Jeffrey Field. Brady passed away on Dec. 31, 2012 due to an unexpected blood infection at the age of eight. To honor his life and love for soccer (specifically goalkeeping), Mack's parents, Christian and Elizabeth Brady, created the "Mack Brady Memorial Soccer Fund." The fund is an endowment for Penn State goalkeepers to help in recruiting, equipment, scholarships and other needs.
Prior to the game, there will be a tailgate in the grass lot next to Little Jeffrey Field beginning at 11 a.m. A raffle as well as on-sale t-shirts benefiting the fund will also take place during the game.
Last season, PSU played then-No. 5 Cal to a 1-1 draw in front of over 3,000 fans.