UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's soccer team (10-2-3, 5-1-1 Big Ten) will conclude regular-season play in Piscataway, N.J. at Rutgers on Sunday, Nov. 3. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. from Yurcak Field.
GAME INFORMATION
- Date: Sunday, Nov. 3, 2019 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Piscataway, N.J. | Venue: Yurcak Field
- Live Stats: scarletknights.com | Watch: BTN Plus ($)
PENN STATE AGAINST RUTGERS
- Penn State leads Rutgers in the all-time series results, 13-8-0, including a five-game win streak.
- Last season the Nittany Lions shut out the Scarlet Knights, 2-0, at Jeffrey Field.
SCOUTING RUTGERS
- The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are 7-6-3 overall and 1-5-1 in Big Ten play heading into the final game of the regular season.
- Sophomore Pablo Avila leads Rutgers with 14 points on six goals and two assists while freshman Jackson Temple adds five goals.
- In net, freshman Oren Asher has played a majority of the minutes and holds a 1.38 goals against average and a .708 save percentage.
- The Scarlet Knights have shut out four opponents in 2019.
LAST TIME OUT
- Down two goals just 13 minutes in, Penn State men's soccer scored three unanswered goals, including the golden goal in overtime, to top defending national champions Maryland, 3-2, Tuesday evening at Jeffrey Field.
- 17th-ranked Maryland got on the scoreboard first at 9:31 and then again less than three minutes later.
- The No. 16 Nittany Lions seemed unfazed by the deficit, however, firing off six shots in the next 20 minutes before the seventh found the back of the net to cut the visitor's lead to one.
- Senior Aaron Molloy crossed a perfect ball into the box that round redshirt junior Brandon Hackenberg's head for the defender's first goal of the season.
- Both teams came out of haltime hot, but the Nittany Lions were the ones able to get back on the scoreboard to tie the game at two in the 56th minute when freshman Kyle May's left-footed rebound shot got in on the near post for his first-career goal.
- Senior Christian Sload nearly had the game-winner in the 58th minute when his breakaway shot was denied by Maryland goalkeeper Niklas Neumann's face.
- Freshman goalkeeper Kris Shakes made four great saves in the second frame to help force overtime for the second-straight meeting with these two teams.
- Both teams had two shots on goal in the overtime period that were saved by the respective keepers before Sload called game with the golden goal on Senior Night with about 30 seconds left to give the Nittany Lions their 10th win of the season and their first win over the Terrapins since 2005.
YOU CAN CALL IT A COMEBACK
- Penn State's comeback victory over Maryland marks the first time the Nittany Lions have erased a 2-0 deficit to come back and win since a 3-2 win over then-No. 17 Ohio State on Oct. 11, 2008.
TOP-10 RPI
- The third and most recent NCAA RPI ranking of the 2019 season has Penn State ranked No. 10, the highest-ranking team in the Big Ten.
- Four other 2019 opponents rank in the top 25, including Big Ten opponents Indiana at No. 12 and Maryland at No. 18.
- See the full RPI rankings on ncaa.com.
NATIONAL RECOGNITION
- Penn State moved up to No. 16 in the United Soccer Coaches week nine poll from No. 19 last week.
- Cracking the top 25 last week marked the first top-25 ranking for the Nittany Lions since Sept. 22, 2015 when they were ranked No. 21.
- Previously this season Penn State had received votes in the USC weekly poll three times (weeks 4-5, 7).
- The Nittany Lions are also ranked No. 15 in Top Drawer Soccer's poll this week.
IRISH MESSI
- Senior midfielder Aaron Molloy leads the team with 21 points on a team-high eight goals and five assists.
- Molloy is in the top 50 nationally (45) for total goals and is second in the conference.
- The team co-captain is also second in the conference in total points and 37th nationally.
- Molloy has the most goals by an individual player since Connor Maloney had eight in 2016 and the most total points since Chad Severs had 17 (7G, 3A) in 2003.
- Molloy was named Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week and Top Drawer Soccer's Player of the Week last week (10/22/19).
WELL-ROUNDED OFFENSE
- 17 different Nittany Lions have recorded points in the 2019 season, including 13 different goal scorers.
- Penn State has scored 31 goals so far, the most since the 2002 season.
THREE'S (GOALS) NOT A CROWD
- Penn State has scored three or more goals six times this season, the most since the 2010 season.
SHAKE YOUR GROOVE THING
- Freshman goalkeeper Kris Shakes has split time in net with veteran Josh Levine, playing a total of 639:28 minutes with a 0.70 goals against average and .857 save percentage.
- He is a perfect 7-0-0 for the Nittany Lions.
OCTOBER OVERLOAD
- Penn State played eight games in the month of October, including a stretch of six games in 18 days.
- The Nittany Lions went 6-1-1 during the month.
SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST
- Senior teammates Christian Sload and Aaron Molloy are both having career-best seasons in their final year with the Blue and White.
- Molloy has eight goals and five assists for a team-high 21 points.
- Sload has three goals and five assists for 11 points, including a five-game points streak in the month of September and the golden goal against Maryland.
- 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 while Molloy had three goals in 2017.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
- Five of Penn State's 16 regular-season opponents are ranked in the top 25 of the United Soccer Coaches' week nine poll, including three in the top 10.
- Stanford is No. 5 followed by UCF at No. 6 and Indiana at No. 10. Maryland comes in at No. 17 while James Madison rounds out the group at No. 21.
- Pitt also received votes.
- The Nittany Lions also moved up in the rankings to No. 16 after cracking the top 25 at No. 19 last week for the first time since the 2015 season.
- The Nittany Lions are 3-2-2 with ranked or receiving-votes teams in 2019.
- The win over No. 17 Maryland marked Penn State's first win over a ranked team since 2016.
NEXT TIME OUT
Penn State has clinched one of the top-four seeds in the conference and will host a quarterfinal game of the Big Ten Tournament on Sunday, Nov. 10 at Jeffrey Field. Time and opponent are to be determined after the conclusion of the regular season Sunday evening.