UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's soccer team heads to the Windy City for a weekend matchup with Northwestern. The Saturday, Oct. 6 tilt is slated for an 8 p.m. ET start in Evanston, Ill., at Martin Stadium.
FOLLOW ALONG
Saturday's game will be streamed live on BTN+. Viewers must have a login to watch. Fans can also follow along on Twitter by following @PennStateMSOC.
PENN STATE AGAINST NORTHWESTERN
Penn State and Northwestern have met 36 times between the regular season and the Big Ten Tournament. Penn State leads the all-time series, 25-8-3. Last season, the Nittany Lions defeated the Wildcats at Jeffrey Field, 2-1, in the last game of the regular season.
SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN
Like the Nittany Lions, Northwestern is coming into Saturday's match after playing three ranked opponents in as many games. The Wildcats are 4-5-2 overall and 0-3-1 in conference play.
Senior Camden Buescher leads Northwestern with seven points this season off three goals and one assist. Bardia Kimiavi (two goals) and Ty Seager (one goal, two assists) each have four total points so far. In net, sophomore goalkeeper Miha Miskovic has posted six shutouts and recorded 35 total saves with a 1.03 goals against average.
LAST SEASON AGAINST NORTHWESTERN
Penn State earned a 2-1 senior day victory over Northwestern at Jeffrey Field last year. Aaron Molloy scored his third goal of the season in the first half off the corner kick by Callum Pritchatt while former Nittany Lion Aymar Sigue scored the game-winner in the 67th minute. Josh Levine made three saves on the day.
LAST TIME OUT
The Penn State men's soccer team played its third ranked opponent in as many games Sunday afternoon, falling to No. 2 Indiana, 2-0, on the road. It was a back-and-forth game in the first half, with both teams taking five or less shots. Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Josh Levine made three saves in the first half before Indiana's Austin Panchot was able to sneak a header past his fingertips in the 45th minute to give the Hoosiers the 1-0 lead heading into halftime. Sophomore Ethan Beckford and freshman Jeremy Rafanello both had good looks at the net in the first half but were unable to convert. The Hoosier offense took control in the second half and went up by two in the 68th minute to give Indiana the 2-0 lead. Levine finished with four saves on the match.
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 on Sept. 25. 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.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
The Penn State men's soccer team has three 2018 opponents ranked in the sixth week (Oct. 2) of the United Soccer Coaches' national poll, with four more receiving votes. Indiana (Sept. 30; L, 0-2) remains in the top-5 at No. 2. Michigan State (Sept. 26; L, 0-1) and Michigan (Sept. 21; T, 1-1 2OT) check in at No. 13 and 14, respectively. UCF (Aug. 24; L, 1-2 2OT), Wisconsin (Oct. 14), Oregon State (Sept. 3; L, 0-1), and Rhode Island (Aug. 31; L, 0-1) all received votes in this week's poll.
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 returns to the friendly confines of Jeffrey Field for a three-game homestand. The Nittany Lions will play host to nonconference visitor Stony Brook on Tuesday, Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. before Big Ten foe Wisconsin comes to town on Sunday, Oct. 14 at noon. The Blue and White will host one final nonconference game of the season on Wednesday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. against Detroit Mercy.
