| PENN STATE vs. JMU | | | | 0-1-1 (0-0-0) | 0-2-0 (0-0-0) |
| | Friday, Sept. 2 | 7 p.m.
University Park, Pa. Jeffrey Field Promotions | |
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| PENN STATE vs. OAKLAND | | | | 0-1-1 (0-0-0) | 0-2-0 (0-0-0) |
| | Monday, Sept. 5 | 7 p.m.
University Park, Pa. Jeffrey Field Promotions | |
|
|
Sept. 1, 2016
PENN STATE OPENS HOME SLATE WITH JMU AND OAKLAND
After a trip out to the west coast, the Penn State men's soccer team will open its 2016 home schedule Friday, Sept. 2 against James Madison University at 7 p.m. at Jeffrey Field. The Nittany Lions will continue with their home schedule Monday, Sept. 5 when they take on Oakland in a 7 p.m. Labor Day contest at Jeffrey Field.
NITTANY LIONS IN HOME OPENERS
Since head coach Bob Warming took the helm in the 2010 campaign, Penn State is undefeated in home openers at Jeffrey Field. Most recently, the Nittany Lions defeated San Francisco 1-0 in the 2015 campaign. In the past six seasons, the Blue and White have outscored opponents 9-1 in the home opener with its largest victory coming against Stetson with a 3-0 win Aug. 25, 2012. Furthermore, the Nittany Lions have not dropped a home opener since the 2008 season when they fell to then-No. 18 Tulsa 2-1 at Jeffrey Field.
JEFFREY FIELD DOMINANCE
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 in 43 years, going 320-83-35 all-time for a winning percentage of .771. Last season, PSU went 4-3-1 at the Jeff and over the past four seasons the Nittany Lions are 29-9-4 en route to a pair of Big Ten titles in 2012 and 2013. In the 43-year history of the stadium, Jeffrey Field has welcomed over 540,000 fans through its gates.
FINNEY NAMED BIG TEN DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior goalkeeper Evan Finney was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for the period ended Aug 28. The award marks the first of its career and the second consecutive season that the Nittany Lions has earned B1G Defensive Player of the Week honors in opening weekend.
Finney had an outstanding weekend in net for the Nittany Lions, playing 191:32 minutes in goal. The San Francisco, Calif. native returned to his home state to keep the defending National Champion Cardinal scoreless through 110:00 minutes of play. Finney stopped six shots in the match and helped the Nittany Lions to a 0-0 double overtime tie over the No. 1 ranked Stanford Cardinal.
The senior keeper continued to look strong in net for the Blue and White in Sunday's match against UC Berkeley, stopping two shots and allowing just one goal before coming out due to an injury in the second half of play.
SCOUTING JAMES MADISON
The Dukes started the 2016 campaign with two losses, falling to both Lehigh and NC State in opening weekend. James Madison was shut out 1-0 by Lehigh before suffering a 3-2 setback to the Wolfpack.
JMU's two goals on the weekend came from Connor Coward and Drew Mahoney. Coward notched three points on the weekend with an assist on Mahoney's goal against NC State.
A GLANCE AT OAKLAND
The Golden Grizzlies had a similar start as the Dukes, going 0-2-0 on opening weekend suffering losses to both UC Santa Barbara and Virginia Tech at Ohio State.
Oakland's Austin Ricci scored the lone goal of the weekend for the Golden Grizzlies, while Zach Walker played all 180 minutes in goal. Walker allowed five goals and made 12 saves for a .706 save percentage after two matches.
OPENING WEEKEND ON THE WEST COAST
The Nittany Lions fended off defending national champion Stanford in its season-opener on the west coast. The Blue and White played the Cardinal to a 0-0 draw in double overtime, firing off eight shots and getting one on goal. Senior Evan Finney made six saves in the opener for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State concluded its west coast trip with a game against UC Berkeley. The Nittany Lions and the Golden Bears each played their second overtime match in as many games, this time with Cal coming out on the winning end with an early overtime goal. Senior Connor Maloney netted his 20th career goal and first of the 2016 for the Blue and White in the sixth minute of the match to give Penn State the early lead, but Cal was able to come away with the late win over the Nittany Lions.
NEXT TIME OUT
Penn State remains in Happy Valley for a Friday, Sept. 9 match with the Red Flash of Saint Francis. The Nittany Lions and the Red Flash will square off at 7 p.m. at Jeffrey Field.
