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Mark Selders

Penn State Breaks from Conference Play to Host Pitt

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's soccer team (6-2-2, 3-1-1 Big Ten) wraps up a three-game home stand while taking a break from conference play on Tuesday, Oct. 15 when in-state rival Pittsburgh comes to town. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Jeffrey Field.
 
GAME INFORMATION

  • Date: Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019 | Time: 7 p.m. ET
  • Location: University Park, Pa. | Venue: Jeffrey Field
  • Live Stats: GoPSUsports.com | Watch: BTN Plus ($)
  • Promotions: Wear White Game – free white shakers; fans should wear white.

PENN STATE AGAINST PITTSBURGH

  • Penn State leads the overall series with Pittsburgh, 23-7-3, and will meet the Panthers for the 34th time in program history Tuesday.
  • The two teams have not met since the 2017 season when Pitt took the victory at home, 3-2, in overtime.

SCOUTING PITTSBURGH

  • The Pittsburgh Panthers are 6-4-2 overall and 2-2-1 in ACC play, most recently with a win over No. 22 Virginia Tech.
  • Edward Kizza leads the Panthers with 19 points on a team-high eight goals and three assists while Velijko Petkovic adds 12 points with four goals and a team-high four assists.
  • In net, Arie Ammann has played a majority of the minutes (759:04) with two shutouts and one combined shutout. He holds a 0.95 goals against average and a .795 save percentage.

LAST TIME OUT

  • Penn State got back in the wins column Saturday evening, taking down Northwestern, 3-2, in overtime for another crucial three points in conference play.
  • Both teams traded multiple shots in the first half but none of which were on goal.
  • In the 17th minute, the Nittany Lions drew a red card for Northwestern, giving them the opportunity to play man-up for the remainder of the game.
  • The Wildcats then took an early lead out of the break before Penn State tied the game seven minutes later on a goal from Callum Pritchatt, his first of the season.
  • Less than five minutes later after a scramble in the box, Liam Butts went top-right shelf on Northwestern to give Penn State the 2-1 lead.
  • The Wildcats tied the game in the 85th minute off a free kick to send the game to overtime.
  • With less than two minutes remaining in the first overtime period, Aaron Molloy had a shot off a throw in that was saved by Northwestern before Butts cleaned up the rebound for the golden goal.

TOP-10 RPI

  • The first NCAA RPI ranking of the 2019 season was released Monday as Penn State checked in at No. 10.
  • The Nittany Lions are the second-highest ranked Big Ten team, after No. 9 Indiana.
  • Full List: ncaa.com.

NO IFS, ANDS OR BUTTS ABOUT IT

  • Freshman forward Liam Butts has a team-high 10 points on five goals through the first 10 games in his rookie season.
  • Butts has two multi-goal games and three game-winning goals, good for first in the conference and 17th nationally.
  • His five total goals is the second-highest total in the conference behind Michigan's Nebojsa Popovic's six.

OCTOBER OVERLOAD

  • The Nittany Lions will play eight games in the month of October, including six within the friendly confines of Jeffrey Field.
  • Penn State is 2-1-0 halfway through the month.
  • Last October, Penn State went 4-2-1 in the month, including four-straight shutouts.

NEXT TIME OUT
Penn State returns to Big Ten play on Saturday, Oct. 19 when it hits the road in Madison. The Nittany Lions and Wisconsin Badgers are set to face off at 8 p.m. ET at McClimon Track/Soccer Complex.