| PENN STATE vs. No. 19 MICHIGAN STATE | | | | 5-6-1 (2-3-0 B1G) | 9-2-1 (3-1-1 B1G) |
| Saturday, Oct. 15 | 7 p.m. | | Jeffrey Field | University Park, Pa. | | Promotions |
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Oct. 14, 2016
PENN STATE PREPPED FOR CONFERENCE TILT WITH SPARTANS
The Penn State men's soccer team welcomes the No. 19 Spartans of Michigan State to town for its lone Saturday match on Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. at Jeffrey Field. The match will mark the fourth top 20 team that the Nittany Lions have taken on this season as they are looking for their first win over a nationally-ranked opponent.
HOW TO WATCH
For fans who cannot make it out to Jeffrey Field on Saturday night, the match will be streamed on BTN Plus ($) starting at 7 p.m. Live stats are also available on GoPSUSports.com.
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 325-85-35 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 32-10-4 en route to a pair of Big Ten titles in 2012 and 2013. In 2016, Penn State is 5-2-0 at the Jeff with its most recent win over Pittsburgh. In the 43-year history of the stadium, Jeffrey Field has welcomed over 540,000 fans through its gates.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE
The Spartans ranks 19th nationally after defeating No. 23 Akron 2-1 in East Lansing. Michigan State carries a 9-2-1 overall record and has picked up three road victories, while dropping just one game away from home.
The Spartans have scored 17 goals on the season and have given up just nine to opponents, while scoring 1.42 goals per game and averaging 11.5 shots. Offensively, Ryan Sierakowski leads MSU with seven goals on the season and 15 points which both rank second in the Big Ten Conference, while DeJuan Jones, Ken Krolicki and Hunter Barone have all netted two goals apiece. The offensive output has been across the front line for the Spartans as 10 players have two or more points on the season.
Goalkeeper Jimmy Hague has started all 12 matches for Michigan State, playing all but six minutes. Hague has made 42 saves and carries a 0.74 goals against percentage, giving up just nine goals in 1095:51 minutes between the pipes.
NITTANY LION DEFENSE KEEPS PITT TO ONE SHOT
The Penn State defense gave up just one shot to the Panthers in its 1-0 victory Tuesday, Oct. 11. The one shot marked the least amount of shots a Bob Warming led team has given up in his six and a half seasons at the helm of the Nittany Lion program. Prior to Tuesday's match with Pittsburgh, Penn State's match low under Warming was two shots which it gave up against Stetson, Sept. 25, 2012 and Buffalo, Sept. 3, 2010.
PENN STATE PUTS OFFENSIVE PRESSURE ON PITTSBURGH
The Nittany Lions put continuous pressure on Pitt in its non-conference mid-week match, taking 22 shots and putting 13 on net. The 22 shots was the most since Oct. 13, 2015 when it took 20 shots at West Virginia. Furthermore, the Blue and White had 14 shots in the first half which surpassed its match total against No. 6 Indiana where it took just 12 in 90 minutes of action.
HARRIS NETS GOAL ON CANADA NIGHT AT JEFFREY FIELD
Canadian Dayonn Harris netted his third goal of the season and first game-winner at Jeffery Field Tuesday, Oct. 11 when Penn State celebrated Canada Night and the Nittany Lion's international trip. Harris found himself alone against the keeper after a perfect through pass from freshman Frankie De La Camara. The sophomore forward chipped the ball past Pitt's keeper and blasted it a mere three-yards out into the back of the net for what would turn into the game-winner in the opening half of the match.
DE LA CAMARA EARNS FIRST COLLEGIATE POINTS
Seeing his first match with multiple minutes donning the Blue and White, freshman Frankie De La Camara made a perfect pass up the middle of the field to Dayonn Harris to tally his first career assist. De La Camara played a total of 45 minutes in the match and took one shot.
NITTANY LIONS IN THE BIG TEN
Senior Connor Maloney ties for fourth with four goals on the season and ranks fourth with 0.36 goals per game in 2016. The Harrisburg, Pa. native also ranks fourth in the conference with 11 points on the season and tied for sixth with three assists. Redshirt-junior goalkeeper Evan Finney leads the Big Ten with a .857 save percentage and ranks second with a 0.59 goals against average.
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.
BIG TEN NETWORK SCHEDULE
The Nittany Lion men's soccer team will be featured on BTN three times in 2016 starting with the Badgers of Wisconsin Friday, Sept. 23 at 5:30 p.m. at Jeffrey Field. Penn State holds a 16-11-3 advantage over Wisconsin after tying 2-2 in double overtime in the 2015 campaign. The Blue and White will open the month of October in Ann Arbor, Mich. when it takes on the Wolverines in a noon match up Sunday, Oct. 2.
Finally, Penn State will return to the friendly confines of Jeffrey Field for a midweek match against Akron. The Nittany Lions and the Zips will square off at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 18 to close outs its BTN slate.
Along with its three BTN matches, the men's soccer team will be featured on BTN Plus on nine occasions in the 2016 campaign starting with its Labor Day match against Oakland at 7 p.m. before closing out the week at Jeffrey Field Friday, Sept. 9 against Saint Francis. The Nittany Lion's BTN Plus slate continues Tuesday, Sept. 13 when they open the Big Ten Conference season against Ohio State at 7 p.m. at Jeffrey Field before hitting the road for a Sunday, Sept. 18 contest at Maryland. Penn State will return home to take on Temple Tuesday, Sept. 27 in a non-conference contest and head to Indiana Saturday, Sept. 8. The Blue and White will play two-straight home matches against Pittsburgh, Oct. 11, and Michigan State, Oct. 15 and close out its BTN Plus schedule in its final regular season match against Northwestern in Evanston, Ill. Sunday, Oct. 30.
NEXT TIME OUT
Penn State takes on its second-straight ranked opponent Tuesday, Oct. 18 when No. 23 Akron visits Jeffrey Field for a 7 p.m. match. The Blue and White will honor Ability Athletes as well as former men's soccer player Brett Gravatt at the mid-week non-conference match. Furthermore, the match will be the last one of the regular season televised on the Big Ten Network for the Nittany Lions.
