Oct. 6, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
P enn State men's soccer senior goalkeeper Andrew Wolverton (Atlanta, Ga.) was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week Monday afternoon. Wolverton pitched a pair of shutouts in a perfect Penn State week.
Wolverton, the conference's top goalkeeper by statistics, added to his stellar season with a pair of shutouts in victories over Bucknell and Rutgers. Wolverton made six saves in a 2-0 win over Bucknell, while making two crucial second-half saves in a narrow 1-0 win over Rutgers for the Nittany Lions who own the nation's top record (10-0-1) and the best conference mark (4-0-0).
The senior goalkeeper currently ranks second nationally in goals-against average (0.21) and save percentage (.946), while posting a perfect 9-0-0 record. Wolverton has eight shutouts this season and owns the all-time school record with 31. The Nittany Lions boast the best defense in the Big Ten and second best in the nation.
The Nittany Lions as a team have captured five weekly awards this season. Last week, Connor Maloney (Harrisburg, Pa.) earned his first offensive award, joining Mikey Minutillo's (San Jose, Calif.) award from two weeks ago, and Mason Klerks' (Corona, Calif.) defensive honor on Sept. 15. Wolverton had previously earned a co-honor on Sept. 29.
Penn State is off until Sunday when it travels to Big Ten newcomer Maryland for a Big Ten Network match. Game time is set for 1 p.m. and Penn State is sponsoring a student fan bus to Ludwig Field.
The cost is $4 and sign-ups run until 10 p.m. Tuesday night. Contact Rob Roselli (rmr5214@psu.edu) to sign up.