| PENN STATE vs. HOFSTRA | | | | 0-0-0 (0-0-0 B1G) | 0-0-0 (0-0-0 CAA) |
| Friday, August 25 | 7 p.m. | Jeffrey Field
University Park, Pa. | Promotions |
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August 24, 2017
MEN'S SOCCER OPEN 2017 AT JEFFREY FIELD
The Penn State men's soccer team will start its 2017 campaign inside the friendly confines of Jeffrey Field Friday, August 25 when it takes on the Pride of Hofstra at 7 p.m.
KICKING OFF 2017 AT HOME
Since head coach Bob Warming has been at the helm, Penn State has opened the six of the last eight seasons inside the friendly confines of Jeffrey Field going 8-1-2 on opening weekend since 2011. The Nittany Lions open at Jeffrey Field in 2017 after traveling to California to take on the defending national champions in the 2016 campaign. In 2015, the Blue and White opened the season at Jeffrey Field where it earned a 1-0 victory over San Francisco before tying Navy to close out the weekend.
PENN STATE IN SEASON-OPENERS
The Nittany Lions have won eight of the last 10 season-openers, dating back to the 2008 campaign. Penn State defeated UCF 2-0 at the Wolstein Classic in the 2008 season to start its eight-year season-opening win streak. Last season, the Nittany Lions tied defending men's soccer national champion Stanford on the road, playing a 0-0 double overtime match against the Cardinal in their home facility.
NITTANY LIONS STRONG IN AUGUST UNDER WARMING
Penn State is 6-0-1 on opening day under head coach Bob Warming and 7-1-2 in the month of August. Last season, the Nittany Lions tied the men's soccer defending national champion Stanford on the road taking them to a 0-0 double overtime contest before falling to UC Berkeley, 2-1, in overtime.
SCOUTING HOFSTRA
The 2017 Hofstra Pride are in search of its third-straight Colonial Athletic Association regular season title after posting a 9-8-1 overall record in the 2016 campaign.
The Pride return reigning CAA Rookie of the Year and leading scorer Luke Brown for the 2017 campaign and also bring back First Team All-CAA honoree Meshack Eshun Addy and Second Team All-CAA member Danny Elliott. Hofstra brings in three transfers and six freshman this season. Brown led the Pride in 2016 with eight goals and two assists for 18 points, while freshman Matthew Vowinkel will look to make an impact after ending his high school career with 86 goals in 85 games.
In goal, Alex Ashton returns after making 14 appearances and 10 starts in the 2016 season with a 6-6 record, while both Leonard Arkhanhelskyi and Thomas Germano will both look to see time between the pipes in the 2017 campaign.
COACHING CLOUT
Among the elite coaches in the sport for the last three decades, head coach Bob Warming is back for his eighth season at Penn State. Warming has an incredible coaching pedigree, including 456 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.
NEW YEAR, NEW LOOK
With the loss of five starters, head coach Bob Warming brought in eight newcomers for the 2017 season including four freshman, three transfers and one walk-on.
The 2021 class is comprised of forward Ethan Beckford, midfielder Mikey Conneh, defender Callum Pritchatt and midfielder Nick Rieple. Junior Ryan Holland transfers to Penn State after playing two seasons with Feather River Junior College, while Aaron Molloy comes from Keiser University and Kyle Perno transfers from UC Santa Barbara. Finally, redshirt-freshman Daniel Gonzalez joins the Nittany Lions as a walk-on.
EXPANDING INTERNATIONALLY
The Penn State men's soccer team features nine student-athletes who have traveled internationally to be a part of the squad. The team features student-athletes from Canada, the United Kingdom, Israel and Costa Rica. Returners Aymar Sigue and Mitchel Bringolf are both native of Canada with Sigue growing up in Alberta and Bringolf growing up in Quebec, while captain Dani Marks came to Penn State from Israel. The freshman class is comprised from three international student-athletes including: Ethan Beckford (Aurora, Ontario), Mikey Conneh (Sheffield, Yorkshire) and Callum Pritchatt (Kinghurst, Birmingham). Finally, junior transfer Ryan Holland is from Leicestershire, United Kingdom, redshirt-freshman Daniel Gonzalez came to Penn State from Costa Rica and sophomore transfer Aaron Molloy is from Dublin, Ireland.
KEY RETURNERS
The Nittany Lions return 19 student-athletes from the 2016 roster, including six starters. Senior Aymar Sigue returns as the leading goal scorer for the Blue and White with three goals in his first season as a Nittany Lion, while Frankie De La Camara, Austin Maloney, Pierre Reedy and Christian Sload all scored one goal in the 2016 season.
On the backline, redshirt-junior captain Dani Marks and sophomore Mitchel Bringolf look to keep the opposition out of the box after helping the goalkeepers to five shutouts in the 2016 season.
In net, all three keepers are expected to see time with Evan Finney and Arie Ammann both having starts in the 2016 season. Finney capped off the 2016 season with two Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors and recorded four shutouts which ranked fifth in the conference. Ammann earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors one time in his freshman campaign, while Josh Levine will look for his collegiate debut after using his redshirt in the 2016 season.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
Head coach Bob Warming has put together a tough season for the Blue and White starting with two-time CAA regular-season champion Hofstra. The Nittany Lions will also take on three teams ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Association Preseason Poll, including No. 6 Maryland, No. 7 Indiana and No. 22 Michigan State. Penn State will face off with both Maryland and Indiana inside the friendly confines of Jeffrey Field but will make the trip out to East Lansing, Michigan to take on the Spartans of Michigan State.
PENN STATE FEATURED ON BIG TEN NETWORK
The Penn State men's soccer team will be featured on the Big Ten Network when it travels to Ohio State Tuesday, Sept. 12 for a 7 p.m. contest. Last season, the Nittany Lions notched a 4-2 victory at home against the Buckeyes. The Blue and White will also have all seven of its home games streamed on BTN Plus.
THREE NITTANY LIONS LAND PRESEASON HONORS
Redshirt-senior Evan Finney, sophomore Pierre Reedy and transfer Aaron Molloy each earned Big Ten Preseason Honors as announced by the conference office.
Finney capped off the 2016 season with two Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors and recorded four shutouts which ranked fifth in the conference. The redshirt-senior also had an .810 save percentage to rank second in the Big Ten and third with a .082 goals against average and 0.31 shutouts per game average.
Reedy earned himself a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman team after starting all 18 matches for the Blue and White. The Kutztown, Pennsylvania native scored his first collegiate goal and the game-winner in the home finale against Wright State.
Molloy joins Penn State after playing one year at Keiser. The Dublin, Ireland native was named PDL Young Player of the Year after scoring seven goals in the season as a member of Reading United.
MARKS NAMED CAPTAIN FOR 2017
Redshirt-junior Dani Marks has been selected as the captain of the 2017 Penn State men's soccer team as announced by head coach Bob Warming. The 2017 season will mark the second time that Marks has earned the honor as he captained the team in the 2015 campaign.
Marks has appeared in 28 matches with 24 starts in the backline in his two years on the pitch for the Blue and White. After sitting out his freshman season due to injury, Marks started 13 matches in the 2015 season as the captain of the Nittany Lions, helping the team to six shutouts on defense. Last season Marks logged 1,145 minutes on the pitch and landed one shot on goal, while helping the Blue and White to four shutouts.
PRESEASON RECAP
The Nittany Lions played three preseason matches in the 2017 season, picking up two victories and falling once. The Blue and White scored seven goals in its three matches in the first two weeks of the preseason.
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 44 years, going 328-85-36 all-time for a winning percentage of .771. Last season, PSU went 8-2-1 at Jeffrey Field and over the past five seasons the Nittany Lions are 37-11-5 en route to a pair of Big Ten titles in 2012 and 2013. In the 44-year history of the stadium, Jeffrey Field has welcomed over 540,000 fans through its gates.
FIFTH ANNUAL MACK BRADY MATCH
The Nittany Lions will host the Fifth Annual Mack Brady Match when the Terrapins of Maryland come to Happy Valley Sunday, Sept. 17. Brady passed away on Dec. 31, 2012 due to an unexpected
blood infection at the age of eight. To honor his life and love for soccer (specifically goalkeeping), Mack's parents Christian and Elizabeth Brady created the "Mack Brady Memorial Soccer Fund." The fund is an endowment for Penn State goalkeepers to help in recruiting, equipment and other needs.
The Blue and White have always found a way in the Mack Brady Match, coming in undefeated this season. The first year, Penn State tied with Cal 1-1 in double overtime before defeating OSU 1-0 in the 2014 campaign. Finally, the Nittany Lions defeated then-No. 10 Indiana in the 2015 Mack Brady Match off a Robby Sagel goal and picked up a 4-2 victory over Ohio State in the 2016 season with two goals from Mason Klerks.
BIG TEN TOURNAMENT TO BE HELD AT GRAND PARK
The Big Ten Men's Soccer Tournament will take place at Grand Park in Westfield, Indiana, as announced by the Big Ten. The men's semifinals and championship game are set for Nov. 10 and 12. Last year, the Big Ten Men's Soccer Tournament semifinals and championship game were played at the facility for the first time, with Maryland earning a 2-1 victory over Wisconsin in the final.
NEXT TIME OUT
Penn State travels to the west coast to start the month of September when it takes on UC Irvine Friday, Sept. 1 and closes out the weekend against Loyola Marymount Sunday, Sept. 3. The games out west will mark the second-straight season in which the Nittany Lions have traveled to California as it came away with a tie against then-No. 1 Stanford and a loss to UC Berkeley in the 2016 campaign.
