UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- On Sunday the sixth-seeded Penn State men's soccer team will return to Ann Arbor to face No. 3 Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.
This will be the second time the teams meet at Michigan this season and the 23rd time the two teams will face off in Penn State's program history. Last time the programs met during regular season play, September 21st this year, the game ended in a draw at one goal apiece, making the Nittany Lions 11-9-3 in the series.
"I'm excited to go back because we have some unfinished business because we tied," senior Mac Curran said. "The expectation going there is that it is going to take the whole game. It is not going to be an easy game by no means. It is going to take every player to have full energy and I believe we can do it."
This season will mark the 28th time the Nittany Lions have appeared in the Big Ten Men's Soccer Tournament. Penn State is 29-20-5 all-time with the second-most wins in tournament history behind Indiana.
Head coach Jeff Cook said the team's energy is very high heading into postseason play.
"We know it will be a really challenging game at Michigan," Cook said. "They are a really talented team, but we think we are in good form as well. So, we look forward to a challenge and the great atmosphere they have. They had a great season, so we know we have to be at our very best."
Michigan ended the regular season with a 10-4-2 overall record and is 4-2-2 in the Big Ten earning them the No. 3 seed in the tournament.
During the regular season matchup, the teams played to double overtime for a total of 110 minutes. Christian Sload put Penn State on the board first, but Michigan was able to answer back later in the game. Curran said he felt that game was the team's turning point in the season.
"We've been smacked around the past couple of year in games like that especially at Michigan," Curran explained. "When we went there we put in a very solid performance against a really good team and I think moving from that, we built on every performance. That was the turning point."
Coach Cook added the team has done a great job together and really believing in the goal of the group.
"We have such a great group here this year," he said.
To cap off the regular season and head into this big contenst, three Nittany Lions earned Big Ten season awards. Captain Aaron Molloy was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team, Jeremy Rafanello was named to the All-Freshman Team, and senior Austin Maloney was rewarded the Sportsmanship Award.
The game against Michigan begins at 1 p.m. Sunday and will be streamed live on BTN+.