Nov. 4, 2016
| PENN STATE at MICHIGAN STATE | | | | 8-7-2 (4-4-0 B1G) | 12-4-1 (4-3-1 B1G) |
| Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals Sunday, Nov. 6 | 1 p.m. | | East Lansing, Mich. | |
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Nov. 4, 2016
PENN STATE TAKES ON SPARTANS IN B1G QUARTERFINAL
The Penn State men's soccer team makes the trip to East Lansing, Mich. for the 2016 Big Ten Tournament Sunday, Nov. 6. The Nittany Lions earned the No. 5 seed in the tournament after falling to Northwestern, while the Spartans notched the No. 4 seed following a loss to Indiana.
HOW TO WATCH
For fans who cannot make it out to East Lansing, Mich. on Sunday afternoon, the match will be streamed on BTN Plus starting at 1 p.m. ET. Live stats are also available on MSUSpartans.com.
BIG TEN TOURNAMENT HISTORY WITH MICHIGAN STATE
The Nittany Lions will play the Spartans for the 12th time in the Big Ten Tournament and hold a 7-3-1 record against MSU in conference tournament action. The two squads have met each of the last three seasons with each team earning one win apiece. Last season, Penn State earned the 2-1 overtime victory in the play-in match when then-freshman Dayonn Harris scored his first collegiate goal in the closing minutes of the first overtime period. In 2014, the Spartans notched the 1-0 win over the Blue and White when Penn State was the No. 4 seed and MSU earned the No. 5 seed.
THREE EARN ALL-BIG TEN ACCOLADES
Penn State men's soccer seniors Connor Maloney and Robby Sagel along with freshman Pierre Reedy collected Big Ten individual honors, as announced by the conference office Friday, Nov. 5. Maloney was a unanimous First Team All-Big Ten selection, earning the honor for the third time in his career, while Sagel earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors and Reedy was a unanimous pick to the All-Freshman team. Additionally, Ryan Gallagher earned the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award for Penn State.
ABOUT THE SPARTANS
Michigan State checks in at No. 15 in the national rankings to start the Big Ten Tournament and carries a 12-4-1 overall record. The Spartans fell to No. 8 Indiana in their final regular season match but defeated No. 16 Notre Dame in its final non-conference match of the 2016 campaign. MSU brings an impressive 8-0-1 home record into the match with the Nittany Lions and is one-of-four Big Ten Conference teams to not suffer a loss on its home field in the 2016 campaign.
Michigan State is outscoring its opponents 23-13 on the season and are giving up 0.76 goals per match. Furthermore, the Spartans are allowing the opposition to take just 8.2 shots per match and only
67 have tested the MSU keepers. Ryan Sierakowski paces the Michigan State offense with 21 points on the season that includes nine goals and three assists, while Ken Krolicki and Giuseppe Barone each have eight points in 2016.
Jimmy Hague has been solid in net all season for Michigan State with 51 saves and a 0.75 goals against average. Hague has given up just 13 goals in 1560:18 minutes on the pitch and holds a .797 save percentage.
RECENT HISTORY WITH MSU
In the past five seasons, Penn State and Michigan State have met on the pitch a total of eight times with each team picking up four wins apiece. The Nittany Lions have come out on the winning end of the match in the last two contests with a 1-0 double overtime win in the 2016 season and a 1-0 overtime win in the 2015 Big Ten Tournament. Michigan State's last win over Penn State came in the 2015 regular season when it earned a 2-1 victory on its home pitch. However, under head coach Bob Warming the Nittany Lions are 1-2-0 when playing at Michigan State in the past six seasons.
BIG TEN TOURNAMENT HISTORY AT MICHIGAN STATE
The Nittany Lions will travel to East Lansing, Mich. for the Big Ten Tournament for the fourth time since joining the conference in the 1991 season. The Blue and White hold a 2-2-1 overall record at Michigan State in the B1G Tournament but have not played there since the 2007 campaign when it fell in the quarterfinals to the No. 5 seeded Spartans. Furthermore, Penn State has played MSU two times on the Spartans home field in its four visits, picking up a 2-1 double overtime win in 1999 and falling in penalty kicks in the 2007 campaign.
FINNEY RANKED AMONGST NATIONS BEST
Redshirt-junior Evan Finney finds himself amongst the elite in the nation as he ranks 20th with a .824 save percentage and 27th with a 0.73 goals against average. Furthermore, Finney leads the Big Ten Conference in save percentage, ranks second in goals against average, fourth in both shutouts per game (0.33) and saves per game (3.30) and ranks fifth with four shutouts on the season.
PENN STATE NOTCHES SIX MULTI-GOAL MATCHES IN 2016
The Nittany Lions tallied six multi-goal matches in the 2016 season with its last coming by way of a 3-2 win over Rutgers in double overtime. Of its six multi-goal games, four have ended in victory for the Blue and White, one has ended in a tie and it suffered one overtime loss to then-No. 4 Maryland after scoring two goals. It's six multi-goal matches this season tied its six in the 2015 campaign.
NEXT TIME OUT
Should Penn State advance to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament, the Nittany Lions will take on the winner of the No. 1 Maryland match vs. the winner of the No 8 Michigan/No. 9 Rutgers contest Friday, Nov. 11. The game will be at either 2:30 p.m. or 4 p.m. depending on television and will be played at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind.
