UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's soccer team (3-1-1) will open 2019 Big Ten conference play at Ohio State (5-1-0) on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. at Jesse Owens Memorial Field in Columbus.
GAME INFORMATION
- Date: Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019 | Time: 7 p.m. ET
- Location: Columbus, Ohio | Venue: Jesse Owens Memorial Field
- Live Stats: ohiostatebuckeyes.com | Watch: BTN+ ($)
PENN STATE AGAINST OHIO STATE
- Penn State leads the overall series with Ohio State, 19-14-4, and will face the Buckeyes Saturday for the 38th time in program history.
- Penn State is 3-2-1 against Ohio State in the last five seasons, which includes a matchup in the Big Ten Tournament in 2015.
- Last season, the Nittany Lions defeated the Buckeyes, 3-1, at Jeffrey Field, also in the Big Ten opener.
SCOUTING OHIO STATE
- The Ohio State Buckeyes are 5-1-0, including a five-game win streak, ahead of starting conference play this weekend.
- Redshirt sophomore Devyn Etling has a team-high five goals this season and was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week on Tuesday.
- Etling also has a team-high 11 points while junior Jack Holland has nine on three goals and three assists.
- Buckeye goalkeeper Parker Siegfried has three shutouts in 2019 and has not surrendered a goal in the last 177 minutes of game action.
- Ohio State picked up votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches weekly poll.
LAST TIME OUT
- Penn State ended Villanova's bid for a perfect season, shutting out the Wildcats, 1-0, last Friday at Jeffrey Field.
- Head coach Jeff Cook called the victory the team's "best overall performance of the season."
- In the 11th minute, Christian Sload set up Seth Kuhn for a well-taken goal, the first goal Villanova's Carson Williams had given up all season.
- Goalkeeper Kris Shakes had three saves in the match for his second consecutive shutout. The freshman in 3-0-0 in between the pipes in his debut campaign.
BEST START SINCE 2015
- Penn State is 3-1-1 to start 2019, marking the best start since the 2015 season.
PENN STATE IN BIG TEN OPENERS
- Penn State men's soccer is 15-11-2 in Big Ten openers since joining the conference in 1991.
- Head coach Jeff Cook is 1-0-0 in conference openers after his Nittany Lions defeated Ohio State, 3-1, in 2018.
SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST
- Senior forward Christian Sload is already having a career-best season in his final year with the Blue and White.
- The Reading, Pa., native has two goals and two assists for six points through five games, including recording points in the last four games.
- Sload's previous career season highs were a single goal in each of the last three seasons and four total points in 2017 and 2018.
CAREER FIRSTS
- The start of 2019 has brought many career firsts for Nittany Lion men's soccer student-athletes.
- Against Stony Brook, senior captain Aaron Molloy had his first multi-goal game while freshman Alex Stevenson scored his first career goal and Andrew Stevenson recorded his first career assist.
- Against Stetson, freshman goalkeeper Kris Shakes recorded his first career shutout and senior Kyle Perno scored his first career goal.
- Sophomore transfer Seth Kuhn scored his first collegiate goal against Villanova.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
- Five of Penn State's 16 regular-season opponents are ranked in the top 25 of the United Soccer Coaches' week three poll while two more are receiving votes.
- Nonconference opponents Stanford (No. 2) and UCF (No. 13) and Big Ten foe Indiana (No. 4) sit in the top-15 while Rutgers (No. 24) and Maryland (No. 25) round out the top 25 opponents for the Nittany Lions.
- Ohio State picked up votes in the poll for the first time this season as the Buckeyes are on a five-game win streak while Villanova continues to receive votes even after losses at Penn State and Maryland.
- The Nittany Lions are 1-1-1 with ranked or receiving-votes teams in 2019.
NEXT TIME OUT
Penn State hosts Michigan for the first conference home game on Friday, Sept. 27 at 6 p.m. The game is also the Seventh Annual Mack Brady Match to celebrate the life and legacy of one of the Nittany Lions' biggest fans. The game is set to be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.