| PENN STATE at MICHIGAN | | | | 4-4-1 (2-1-0 B1G) | 1-6-3 (0-4-0 B1G) |
| Sunday, Oct. 2 | 12 p.m. | | U-M Soccer Stadium | Ann Arbor, Mich. | |
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Sept. 30, 2016
PENN STATE TREKS TO ANN ARBOR FOR CONFERENCE CONTEST
The Penn State men's soccer team will travel to Ann Arbor, Mich. for a noon contest against the Wolverines of the University of Michigan Sunday, Oct. 2. The match will be the fourth Big Ten Conference match for the Blue and White and the fifth for the Maize and Blue at the halfway point of the 2016 season.
NITTANY LIONS AND WOLVERINES SET TO AIR ON BTN
For fans who cannot make the trip to Ann Arbor, Mich. to watch the Nittany Lions take on the Wolverines, the match will be aired on the Big Ten Network starting at noon. The match will mark the second time this season that Penn State has been live on the network.
SERIES HISTORY WITH THE WOLVERINES
Penn State leads the all-time series with Michigan, 11-7-2 but most recently suffered a 2-0 setback in the 2015 campaign at Jeffrey Field. In the past five matches of the series, the Nittany Lions have come away with two wins, two losses and one tie, winning back-to-back matches in 2013 and 2014 against the Wolverines.
QUICK GLANCE AT MICHIGAN
The Wolverines earned their first win of the 2016 season in a mid-week non-conference match against Detroit and come into the Sunday Big Ten Conference contest with a 1-6-3 overall record and a 0-4-0 record in B1G play.
Michigan has scored a total of eight goals but has not been light on shots as it has taken 162 shots in the 2016 campaign and holds a .049 shot percentage. The Wolverine backline has given up 13 goals on the season and allows 13 shots per game. Francis Atuahene leads the U-M offense with three goals on the season, while Robby Mertz has tallied two goals. Ivo Cerfa and Rylee Woods each have two helpers on the season for the Maize and Blue.
In goal, Evan Louro has played all 996:16 minutes in net, giving up 13 goals and carrying a 1.17 goals against average. The junior keeper has posted two shutouts and has a .711 save percentage in 10 matches.
FINNEY MAKES HIS RETURN TO THE NET
After suffering an injury in the second match of the season, redshirt-junior Evan Finney made his first appearance in goal Sept. 23 when he notched the start against Wisconsin. The San Francisco, Calif. native made one save on the night of his return and earned his first win of the 2016 season. Finney started his fourth match of the season against Temple suffering the loss, making five saves on the night and giving up one goal.
MALONEY ON THE EDGE OF ETCHING HIS NAME IN THE RECORDS
Senior Connor Maloney has scored 23 goals in his career thus far donning the Blue and White. If Maloney scores at least six more goals this season, the senior will rank 15th all-time in Penn State career goals with 29. Furthermore, Maloney needs just two more assists to tie for 18th all-time in Penn State laurels.
NITTANY LIONS IN THE BIG TEN
Coming into the third week of conference action, Penn State ranks second in goals per game with 1.44 and second in saves with 36. The Nittany Lions' 13 goals on the season also tie for third with Ohio State and are only one goal shy of tying for second with Indiana.
Individually, senior Connor Maloney ties for second with four goals on the season and ranks second with 0.50 goals per game in 2016. The Harrisburg, Pa. native also ties for second in the conference with 11 points on the season and third with three assists. In goal, Arie Ammann ranks third with 3.50 saves per game for the Blue and White.
PENN STATE SHUT OUT AGAINST TEMPLE
The Penn State men's soccer team was unable to come away victorious against the Temple University Owls in a mid-week non-conference match at Jeffrey Field. The Nittany Lions fell 1-0 when a goal from the Owls happened in the final six minutes of play.
Senior Connor Maloney led the Blue and White offensively with four shots, two of which landed on goal, while Dayonn Harris, Riley Grant and Aymar Sigue all had two shots on net for the Nittany Lions. Redshirt-junior Evan Finney suffered the loss in goal, making five saves on the night and giving up one goal.
COACHING CLOUT
Among the elite coaches in the sport for the last three decades, head coach Bob Warming is back for his seventh season at Penn State. Warming has an incredible coaching pedigree, including 452 career Division I victories -- second all-time among active Division I coaches and ninth all-time at DI. He was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2012 and 2013 after leading PSU to a pair of league titles. Furthermore, Warming leads all Division I active coaches with a 28 combined regular season and conference tournament championships.
NEXT TIME OUT
Penn State will have a six day break before traveling to Bloomington, Ind. for a 7:30 p.m. match against the Hoosiers of Indiana University.
