Oct. 24, 2017
| PENN STATE at JAMES MADISON | | | | 3-9-2 (1-6-0 B1G) | 8-5-3 (4-1-2 CAA) |
| Wednesday, Oct. 25 | 7 p.m. | Sentara Park
Harrisonburg, Va. | |
|
|
Oct. 24, 2017
NITTANY LIONS READY FOR FINAL NON-CONFERENCE MATCH
The Penn State men's soccer team closes out its four-match road stretch with a mid-week non-conference match against the Duke of James Madison Wednesday, Oct. 25. The Nittany Lions and the Dukes will take the pitch at Sentara Park at 7 p.m.
CATCHING THE GAME FROM HOME
Fans who are unable to make the trip with the Nittany Lions to Harrisonburg, Virginia can catch all the action live on MadiZONE HD SportsNet. Fans can also follow along with live stats on JMUSports.com or follow along with live updates on Penn State men's soccer Twitter at @PennStateMSOC.
SERIES HISTORY WITH THE DUKES
The two non-conference opponents have matched up a total of eight times with each team capturing three wins and tying twice. Most recently, Penn State notched a 2016 home-opening victory over the Dukes at Jeffrey Field on a Connor Maloney goal. The Blue and White have traveled to JMU just two times, earning a tie and falling one time. The Nittany Lions will make their first trip to James Madison since 2014 when the two teams tied 1-1 in double overtime. Finally, in the Bob Warming era, Penn State is 2-1 against the Dukes with back-to-back victories in 2015 and 2016 at home.
SCOUTING JAMES MADISON
The Dukes have scored 29 goals in the 2017 season, averaging 1.81 goals per game and have given up 24 goals to its opponents. James Madison has peppered the net with shots, testing the keepers 51.2 percent of the time with 104 of its 203 shots landing on goal this season.
JMU has had offensive output from 15 players this year with 12 tallying two-or-more points each. Maneul Ferriol and Ben Dao have been the leading contributors offensively with six goals each and Joe Vyner has added four of his own goals for the Dukes. Niclas Mohn has also been a big contributor to the JMU offense with three goals and three assists, while Yannick Franz, Tim Estermann and Vyner pace the team with four assists each.
James Madison has split time between its goalkeepers with TJ Bush starting in 10 games and Sean Connolly has started six. Bush has a 1.13 goals against average and making 38 saves this year. Connolly has a 1.87 goals against average and has 15 saves for the Dukes this season.
BECKFORD TALLIES TWO-GOAL MATCH
Freshman Ethan Beckford is the first men's soccer student-athlete to have a two-goal game since Connor Maloney netted two goals against No. 22 Akron in a double overtime tie Oct. 18, 2016. Beckford knocked in a penalty kick before scoring less than 20 seconds later to put Penn State up 4-1 over the Scarlet Knights. The Manchester, England native led the Nittany Lions tallied five of Penn State's 17 points in its 6-2 victory over Rutgers For his efforts, Beckford was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week and TopDrawerSoccer.com Honorable Mention Player of the Week.
PSU HAS HUGE OUTING AGAINST RUTGERS
The Nittany Lions earned a decisive 6-2 victory over Rutgers for its first Big Ten Conference win of the season. Penn State's six goals and five assists are the most since it earned a 6-2 victory over Penn on Sept. 24, 2014. Eight Nittany Lions tallied points on the day with freshman Ethan Beckford scoring back-to-back goals and Callum Pritchatt earning two assists. The Nittany Lions had 17 points on the day with six goals and five assists which is the most since they had 17 points against Penn in a 6-2 victory on Sept. 24, 2014.
BECKFORD NAMED TOP-100 FRESHMEN BY TOPDRAWERSOCCER.COM
Freshman Ethan Beckford was named to TopDrawerSoccer.com's Freshman Top 100 Rankings for Division I men's soccer. The Manchester, England native has played 868 minutes in 11 starts in his first year on the pitch for the Blue and White. Beckford ties for a team-high two goals and has put 13 of his 22 shots on goal for a .591 shots on goal percentage this season.
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 returns to Jeffrey Field for one final time in the 2017 season Sunday, Oct. 29 when it hosts Northwestern in a Big Ten Conference match on senior day. The Nittany Lions will honor the careers of its four seniors on Sunday following the match with the Wildcats.
