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| U-M Soccer Stadium | Ann Arbor, Mich. | 1,738 | |
| MATCH LINKS |
| Box Score HIGHLIGHTS: Maloney's Goal (57th) | Wolverton's Save (82nd) |
| FINAL STATISTICS |
Sept. 28, 2014
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Connor Maloney (Harrisburg, Pa.) scored in the 57th minute and Andrew Wolverton saved four shots to lead No. 7 Penn State men's soccer past Michigan, 1-0, on Sunday at U-M Soccer Stadium. Wolverton became the all-time shutout leader in Penn State history with his 29th clean sheet.
"I told the players after the match that I will make sure that in the record book all their names are listed next to Wolverton's shutout today," said head coach Bob Warming. "We are all about getting a win in our program. It's not about personal records, but this is a special moment in Penn State soccer history and I want everybody to know it's the whole team that gets a shutout. Andrew would be the first one to say that.
"His parents have made almost every match and they told me before today's game that they can't make it to Bucknell (on Wednesday, Oct. 1). I'm really happy for the family that they were here to see the special moment despite the fact that both his mom and dad have said `all we care about are the wins'."
With all the pressure coming from the Wolverines, Penn State (8-0-1, 3-0-0 Big Ten) broke out with a counter attack to capture its lead. A combination play was snuffed out by the Michigan defense, but Owen Griffith (Lewisburg, Pa.) settled the situation in the middle of the field connecting on a give-and-go with Kyle MacDonald (Yardley, Pa.) on a back-heeled pass.
Griffith sent a ball out wide right to Mikey Minutillo (San Jose, Calif.) who one-timed a cross along the ground to Maloney at the six-yard area. Maloney created a bit of separation at the near post and beat Adam Grinwis for the 1-0 lead.
Michigan (1-4-2, 0-1-2 Big Ten) controlled most of the play in the second half and nearly tied the game in the 82nd minute as Tyler Arnone's rocket from 18 yards out required a sprawling save from Wolverton to his left. The shot was destined for the right-side netting.
In the final two minutes, the Wolverines pushed everyone up, including backup goalkeeper Evan Louro, for one final assault. A free kick effort was headed away by Eli Dennis (Easton, Md.) just 1:45 shy of the final horn.
The Wolverines had three corner kicks in the final 75 seconds and three different shots blocked by Dennis, MacDonald and Randy Falk (Tewksbury Township, N.J.) to hold firm and give Penn State its perfect 3-0-0 start to the season.
Wolverton overtook Greg Kenney (1981-84) in the Penn State record books. Kenney had 28.25 shutouts and is Penn State's all-time leader in saves with 431. In the 1980s and early 1990s, partial credit was given to combined shutouts. Dan Gallagher (1975-78) and Conrad Taylor (2004-07) each had 24 complete shutouts.
MATCH NOTES
• Penn State scored first for the ninth straight game this year. The Nittany Lions have scored in all nine games and have not trailed all season.
• Penn State improved to 11-6-2 all-time against Michigan beating the Wolverines in Ann Arbor for the first time since Sept. 22, 2002 (1-0), a span of 4,388 days.
• The 8-0-1 start is the best start for PSU in the Big Ten era. The 1999 team went 8-1-0, while the 2004 team was the only other squad to be unbeaten at 5-0-4.
• Connor Maloney leads the Big Ten in scoring (7 goals, 15 points). Over the past three seasons, Penn State didn't have a single scorer over six goals when Corey Hertzog bagged 20 in 2010.
• Penn State is 11-2-2 in its last 15 Big Ten regular-season matches. Penn State sits in first place in the Big Ten with nine points from three games. Michigan State (1-0-1, 4 points) and Maryland (1-1-1, 4 points) are behind PSU.
NEXT MATCH
The Nittany Lions return to Pennsylvania to take on Bucknell in Lewisburg on Wednesday Oct. 1. The game is set for 7 p.m. and will air live on NSCAATV.com for free as the NSCAA National Game of the Week.