UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's soccer team heads to Bloomington, Ind. on Sunday, Sept. 30 to face its third ranked opponent in as many games. First kick with No. 2 Indiana is slated for a 1 p.m. start.
FOLLOW ALONG
The game will be streamed via BTN+ for viewers with a login. Fans can also follow along by following the team on Twitter, @PennStateMSOC.
PENN STATE AGAINST INDIANA
Penn State and Indiana have met 50 times between the regular season and the Big Ten Tournament. Indiana leads the all-time series, 14-32-4. Last season, the Nittany Lions played the then-No. 1 ranked Hoosiers twice. Indiana won both matches, 1-0, but the Big Ten Tournament game in Bloomington went to overtime.
SCOUTING INDIANA
Indiana is on an eight-game win streak after dropping the first game of the season to then-No. 5 Wake Forest (currently No. 1 in the United Soccer Coaches' poll). Three of the Hoosiers wins were over ranked teams, including shutouts of then-No. 22 Dartmouth and then-No. 18 UConn. They also took then-No. 8 Notre Dame to overtime before finding the victory with the golden goal.
Senior Andrew Gutman leads not only Indiana but also the conference in total goals (6), points (16), and points per game (1.78). Redshirt senior Trevor Swartz leads the Hoosiers and the conference in assists with eight so far. Sophomore goalkeeper Trey Muse has 23 saves with a 0.57 GAA, only allowing five goals passed. Muse and fellow goalkeeper Sean Caulfield have combined for five shutouts.
LAST SEASON AGAINST INDIANA
Penn State faced then-No. 1 Indiana two times in 2017, including a regular season matchup as well as the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. The Hoosiers won the regular season matchup, 1-0, at Jeffrey Field. In the conference tournament, the Nittany Lions were able to hold the top team in the country scoreless through 90 minutes of play before the Hoosiers found the golden goal in the 96th minute. Josh Levine made a career-high 12 saves in that game and was named to the 2017 All-Tournament Team.
GALLAGHER NAMED B1G DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Redshirt senior Ryan Gallagher was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week as announced by the conference office Tuesday. The Pine Bush, N.Y. native has started all seven games on the backline for the Nittany Lions in 2018. He is the team leader in assists with two, including the game-winning assist against Bowling Green on Aug. 28 to help the Nittany Lions secure their first win. The honor marks the first Big Ten weekly award of Gallagher's career and the first of the season for Penn State men's soccer.
LAST TIME OUT
The Penn State men's soccer team held its own against the No. 5-ranked Michigan State Spartans Wednesday night at Jeffrey Field. Behind the diving efforts of redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Josh Levine, Penn State was able to keep the Spartans out of the back of the net for the entirety of the first half. The Nittany Lions got things rolling in the second half when sophomore Mikey Conneh took a great look at the net in the 66th minute but a Spartan defender got in front of the ball for the block. Michigan State's John Freitag scored the lone goal in the match in the 74th minute off the pass from teammate Giuseppe Barone inside the box. Penn State fought hard for the equalizer in the remaining 15 minutes with great looks at the net by Callum Pritchatt, Jeremy Rafanello and Brandon Hackenberg. Levine finished the match with eight saves, tying his season high also posted against UCF in the season opener on Aug. 24.
BIG TEN OPENING DAY VICTORY
The Penn State men's soccer team rallied for a 3-1 victory over Big Ten foe Ohio State in the conference opener at Jeffrey Field Sunday afternoon. Three different Nittany Lions scored in the victory, including a first career goal by redshirt junior Stephen Kenney. Junior Aaron Molloy and senior Mac Curran provided the other two while redshirt senior Ryan Gallagher, sophomore Callum Pritchatt and Molloy added assists. Penn State is now 15-11-2 in Big Ten regular season openers since joining the conference in 1991.
FIRST MULTIPLE-GOAL GAME OF 2018
The Nittany Lions scored three goals in the Big Ten opener victory against Ohio State on Sunday, Sept. 16 to mark the first game of the 2018 season scoring multiple goals in a single match. It was also the first game since Oct. 21, 2016 (vs. Rutgers) that the Blue and White have scored three goals in a single game and the first time since Sept. 20, 2017 (vs. Detroit Mercy) that they have won by multiple goals within the friendly confines of Jeffrey Field.
BIG TEN TOURNAMENT RETURNS TO GRAND PARK
The Big Ten men's and women's soccer tournament semifinal and championship games will return to Grand Park in Westfield, Ind. for the 2018 season, as announced by the conference on Sept. 27.
The men's tournament will start with quarterfinal games being played on campus Nov. 3-4. Play will commence at Grand Park on Friday, Nov. 9 with two semifinals and will conclude on Sunday, Nov. 11 with the championship game.
Kickoff times and television coverage for all Big Ten men's and women's soccer tournament games will be announced at a later date.
NEXT TIME OUT
Penn State men's soccer stays on the road for another tough Big Ten Conference matchup. The Nittany Lions will face Northwestern on Saturday, Oct. 6 at 8 p.m. ET in Evanston, Ill. The game will be streamed live on BTN+ for viewers with a login.
