UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's soccer team (5-1-2, 2-0-1 Big Ten) starts a three-game home stretch at Jeffrey Field this weekend, starting with No. 8 Indiana on Sunday, Oct. 6 at 1 p.m.
GAME INFORMATION
- Date: Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019 | Time: 1 p.m. ET
- Location: University Park, Pa. | Venue: Jeffrey Field
- Live Stats: GoPSUsports.com | Watch: BTN Plus ($)
- Promotions: Camper reunion – returning camps get scout patches; Free bounce house on Little Jeffrey; 1954-55 national championship teams recognition at halftime; Postgame autograph session.
PENN STATE AGAINST INDIANA
- Penn State trails in the overall series history with Indiana, 14-33-4, as the teams meet for the 52nd time in program history Sunday.
- Last season, the Hoosiers, ranked No. 2 at the time, bested the Nittany Lions, 2-0, in Bloomington.
- Penn State is looking for its first win over Indiana since the 2015 season when it knocked off then-No. 10 Indiana, 1-0.
SCOUTING INDIANA
- The Indiana Hoosiers are 6-1-2 overall and 2-0-0 in Big Ten conference play in 2019 and are ranked eighth in the latest United Soccer Coaches weekly poll.
- Maouloune Goumballe (2G, 3A) and Ian Black (3G, 1A) lead the Hoosiers with seven points each.
- Joshua Penn adds an additional three goals on a team-high 21 total shots.
- In net, Sean Caulfield has a 0.733 save percentage and 0.91 goals against average with two shutouts.
LAST TIME OUT
- Penn State remains unbeaten in the last seven games after a 3-0 shutout win at Michigan State on Tuesday.
- The freshmen duo of Liam Butts and Andrew Privett scored all three goals for the Nittany Lions on the road, the second time in conference play the pair has performed in such way.
- Penn State controlled the pace of play from the start of the game and got on the board first with Butts' goal from Pierre Reedy in the 28th minute that carried into halftime.
- Right out of the half, Michigan State fired off four quick shots but goalkeeper Josh Levine made two saves to keep his team up one.
- Privett added the insurance goal for Penn State in the 68th minute off a cross from Josh Dabora.
- Butts then sealed the deal for the Nittany Lions in the 80th minute as he connected with Reedy for the second time in the game for the final 3-0 scoreline.
BEST START SINCE 2014
- Penn State is 5-1-2 to start 2019, marking the best record through eight games since 2014, also the last time the Nittany Lions made it to the NCAA Tournament.
- It is also their best start in conference play (2-0-1) since 2014.
GOING BACK-TO-BACK (WITH TWO DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK)
- Redshirt juniors Brandon Hackenberg (Sept. 24) and Josh Levine (Oct. 1) were named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks.
- The honor was the first Big Ten weekly award of Hackenberg's career and the second for Levine.
NATIONAL RECOGNITION
- Penn State received votes in the United Soccer Coaches weekly poll in back-to-back weeks.
- It is the first time the Nittany Lions have received votes in the poll since Sept. 6, 2016 when they got 10 votes.
- The Nittany Lions were also ranked No. 20 in Top Drawer Soccer's weekly ranking.
OCTOBER OVERLOAD
- The Nittany Lions will play eight games in the month of October, including six within the friendly confines of Jeffrey Field.
- Last October, Penn State went 4-2-1 in the month, including four-straight shutouts.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
- Four of Penn State's 16 regular-season opponents are ranked in the top 25 of the United Soccer Coaches' week five poll while three more are receiving votes.
- Nonconference opponents Stanford (No. 2) and UCF (No. 11) remain top-15 while James Madison (No. 16) moves up a few spots again this week. Conference foe Indiana (No. 8) is the final ranked opponent for the Nittany Lions.
- Rutgers, Maryland and Ohio State all picked up votes in the poll, as did Penn State.
- The Nittany Lions are 2-1-1 with ranked or receiving-votes teams in 2019.
NEXT TIME OUT
Penn State continue a three-game home stretch, welcoming Northwestern to Jeffrey Field on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 7 p.m.