UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's soccer team (1-0-0, 1-0-0 Big Ten) hits the road for the first time in the 2020-21 season, traveling to Piscataway, N.J. to take on Rutgers on Tuesday, Feb. 23. Kickoff is set for noon at Iron Peaks Sports & Events, an indoor facility in Hillsborough, N.J.
GAME INFORMATION
- Date: Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021 | Time: Noon ET
- Location: Hillsborough, N.J. | Venue: Iron Peaks Sports & Events
- Live Stats: scarletknights.com
PENN STATE AGAINST RUTGERS
- Penn State and Rutgers will meet Tuesday for the 23rd time in program history. The Nittany Lions lead the all-time series, 14-8-0.
- This will be the first of two meetings between the teams this season as they will play a home-and-home in the conference-only schedule.
- Last season, Penn State beat Rutgers 2-1 in overtime in Piscataway in the regular-season finale. Rutgers took a 1-0 lead late in the second half before Liam Butts tied the game with just over five minutes remaining before then-senior Christian Sload sealed the victory in the first overtime period to clinch a second-place conference finish for the Nittany Lions.
- Penn State has won the last six-straight contests against the Scarlet Knights.
SCOUTING RUTGERS
- Rutgers (1-0-0, 1-0-0 Big Ten), led by second-year head coach Jim McElderry, beat Michigan State, 2-0, in its season opener on Friday.
- Senior transfer Ritchie Barry and freshman Colin Beasley both scored goals for the Scarlet Knights while sophomore Jackson Temple contributed two assists.
- Sophomore Oren Asher recorded the shutout in between the pipes with five saves.
- Rutgers won its first Big Ten opener since the 2014 season.
SEASON-OPENER DUB
- No. 23 Penn State hung on for a 3-2 win over No. 21 Maryland in the season opener Friday night in Holuba Hall.
- Freshman Peter Mangione recorded three points on one goal and an assist in his collegiate debut, including the eventual game-winner.
- Sophomore Andrew Privett and redshirt senior Pierre Reedy also scored goals while junior transfer Danny Bloyou contributed an assist.
- The Nittany Lions earned their second-straight win over a ranked Terrapins squad for the first time since 2004-05.
HE'S THE MAN-GIONE
- Freshman midfielder/forward Peter Mangione had a stellar collegiate debut against Maryland on Friday, recording three points on one goal and one assist.
- The Hunt Valley, Md. native cracked the starting lineup and played a crucial 59 minutes as the Nittany Lions held on to defeat No. 21 Maryland, 3-2.
- Mangione scored his first collegiate goal and the eventual game winner in the 35th minute to make it 3-0 Penn State at the time.
- He also contributed an assist on the first goal of the game for his teammate and roommate Andrew Privett.
- Mangione ranks second in the conference and ninth in the nation in points per game (3.00). He's also tied for first in the conference and nationally for shot accuracy (1.000).
REEDY'S LONG OVERDUE GOAL
- Redshirt senior and team captain Pierre Reedy scored a goal against Maryland in the season opener, his first goal since the 2016 season.
- Reedy missed the 2017 and 2018 seasons due to injury. He contributed four assists in 2019.
PENN STATE DEBUTS
- Three newcomers made their Penn State debut on Friday.
- Freshman Peter Mangione was in the starting XI and recorded three points on one goal and one assist.
- Junior transfer Danny Bloyou and freshman Femi Awodesu both came off the bench to help the Nittany Lions. Bloyou recorded one assist for his first collegiate point.
5 GAMES IN 17 DAYS
- The days will surely fly by this season as the 2020-21 Big Ten schedule has teams playing games every four days.
- Penn State will play five games in 17 days to kick off the year, including three road games in that stretch.
NEXT TIME OUT
Penn State returns to University Park to face Michigan State on Saturday, Feb. 27 in Holuba Hall. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. and the game will be streamed on Big Ten Network+.