Sept. 1, 2015
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Penn State men's soccer redshirt-senior goalkeeper Matt Bersano (Tempe, Ariz.) was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for the period ending Aug. 30. The award marks the first of his career at Penn State.
After graduating from Oregon State and transferring for his final season of eligibility, Bersano made two starts in the net for Penn State this past weekend. The Tempe, Ariz. native recorded his first shutout of the season, making three saves against San Francisco Friday, Aug. 28.
After recording his first shutout of the season, Bersano remained strong in net for the Nittany Lions in their match with Navy. A powerful Navy offense took 17 shots, eight of which were on goal. Bersano came up big for Penn State, making six saves and allowing just one goal on the afternoon.
Following the first week of action, Bersano leads the conference with nine saves and a 0.43 goals against average in 200:00 minutes, while his .900 save percentage ranks fourth in the Big Ten. Additionally, Bersano's nine saves rank 32nd nationally, while his 4.5 saves per game rank 50th in the nation.
Bersano and the rest of the Nittany Lion squad will hit the road for the first time in the 2015 season when they travel to Ambler, Pa. Friday, Sept. 4 to take on Temple University. Match time is slated for 4:30 p.m.