PENN STATE vs. WRIGHT STATE | | | 7-6-2 (4-3-0 B1G) | 9-4-2 (5-1-1 Horizon) |
| Tuesday, Oct. 25 | 7 p.m. | Jeffrey Field | University Park, Pa. | Promotions |
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Oct. 24, 2016
PENN STATE CELBRATES SENIOR DAY WITH WRIGHT STATE
The Penn State men's soccer team finishes its 2016 regular season home schedule Tuesday, Oct. 25 when it celebrates Senior Day against Wright State. The match is slated to start at 7 p.m. at Jeffrey Field. The Nittany Lions will celebrate the careers of its six senior following the match against the Raiders.
HOW TO WATCH
For fans who cannot make it out to Jeffrey Field on Tuesday night, the match will be streamed live free of cost on GoPSUNow.com 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 327-85-36 all-time for a winning percentage of .771. This season, PSU is 7-2-1 at the Jeff and over the past four seasons the Nittany Lions are 33-10-5 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.
SENIOR PROFILES
Penn State men's soccer will celebrate the careers of six seniors at Tuesday's match against the Raiders. Below is a brief profile of their careers donning the Blue and White.
>> Malik Cameron - Transfer from Penn State Harrisburg who has appeared in seven matches and tallied 91 minutes on the pitch. Cameron was an Academic All-Big Ten honoree in his junior season with the Blue and White.
>> Evan Finney - Has appeared in 17 matches, starting 16 between the pipes for Penn State. The San Francisco, Calif. native earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week twice in his senior season and has posted three shutouts. He currently ranks 21st in the nation with a .822 save percentage and 33rd with a 0.77 goals against average.
>> Riley Grant - Has appeared in 51 matches with 32 starts in his three-year career as a Nittany Lion. The senior forward has scored twice and dished out six assists for Penn State in a total of 2,799 minutes on the pitch.
>> Mason Klerks - Has been an impact player for the Nittany Lions since arriving on campus, appearing in 72 matches with 67 starts. The senior midfielder has played 5,950 minutes on the pitch, scoring three goals and adding two assists. Klerks is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and was named to the 2013 All-Big Ten Freshman team.
>> Connor Maloney - Has been a vital player for Penn State, scoring 26 goals and adding 16 assists for a total of 68 points. The senior midfielder earned numerous accolades in 2014 including: Big Ten Player of the Year, First Team All-Big Ten, College Sports Madness Big Ten Player of the Year, and College Sports Madness All-America Fourth Team. Maloney is a two-time All-Big Ten First Team honoree and has scored seven goals and added four assists in his final season donning the Blue and White.
>> Robby Sagel - Transferred from Temple to play in 31 matches with 30 starts on the backline for the Blue and White. The Las Vegas, Nev. native's two goals came in crucial moments against then-No. 10 Indiana in 2015 and then-No. 19 Michigan State in 2016. Sagel has also helped the Nittany Lions to 10 shutouts in his two years at Penn State.
SERIES HISTORY WITH THE RAIDERS
Penn State and Wright State have only squared off one time in the history of the two squads. The two teams met on the pitch in the 1988 campaign with Penn State coming away with a 1-0 victory in Happy Valley.
SCOUTING WRIGHT STATE
The Raiders come to Happy Valley on a five-match unbeaten streak with three wins and two ties. Most recently, Wright State earned a 2-0 win over Cleveland State in a Horizon League match up at home. WSU has scored a total of 25 goals on the season with 10 of them coming from leading scorer Peguy Ngatcha. Ngatcha currently ranks 12th in the nation with his 10 goals and has also added three assists on the season for a total of 23 points. Along with Ngatcha, the Raiders look to Eric Lynch who has scored five goals and had five assists on the season, while Jackson Dietrich has seven assists on the year. As a team, Wright State has outscored its opponents 25-16 and averages 1.67 goals per game off of 15.5 shots per game. The Raiders have split time between goalkeepers this season with three keepers playing 400+ minutes on the year. Will Lukowski brings the lowest goals against average to the match at 0.24, while Joel Sundell has made a team-high 20 saves on the season. Each of the three keepers have earned three wins on the season with Sundell having four shutouts and Lukowski earning three.
NITTANY LIONS IN OVERTIME PERIODS
Penn State played its third-straight double overtime match against Rutgers, marking the first time since the 2013 season that they have played three-straight double overtime matches. Furthermore, the Blue and White played its eighth overtime match of 2016, which ties the most since the 2005 campaign and is the third-highest in program history. Penn State holds a 4-2-2 overall record in overtime periods, tying with then-No. 1 Stanford and No. 22 Akron, while falling to then-No. 4 Maryland and UC Berkeley.
PENN STATE EARNS B1G WIN OVER RUTGERS
The Blue and White continues its dominance at Jeffrey Field, earning its seventh victory of the season with a 3-2 double overtime win over Rutgers. Junior Aymar Sigue notched his second game-winner of the season for the Nittany Lions on his third goal of the season with two minutes remaining in the second overtime period. Freshman Frankie De La Camara netted his first collegiate goal donning the Blue and White, while freshman Pierre Reedy notched his first collegiate points with two assists in the match. Finally, senior Connor Maloney scored his team-leading seventh goal of the season in the second half of the match.
FINNEY RANKED AMONGST NATIONS BEST
Redshirt-junior Evan Finney finds himself amongst the elite in the nation as he ranks 21st with a .822 save percentage and 33rd with a 0.77 goals against average. Furthermore, Finney leads the Big Ten Conference in save percentage, ranks third in shutouts per game (0.38), fourth in saves per game (3.30) and goals against average and ties for sixth with three shutouts on the season.
NEXT TIME OUT
Penn State concludes its 2016 regular season Sunday, Oct. 30 when it travels to Northwestern for a Big Ten Conference contest. The Nittany Lions and the Wildcats will clash at 1 p.m. ET with the match set to air on BTN Plus ($).