UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's soccer team (2-0-0, 2-0-0 Big Ten) is back home to host Michigan State on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 2 p.m. in Holuba Hall. The game will be streamed live on Big Ten Network+.
GAME INFORMATION
- Date: Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021 | Time: 2 p.m. ET
- Location: University Park, Pa. | Venue: Holuba Hall (indoors)
- Live Stats: GoPSUsports.com | Watch: Big Ten Network+ ($)
PENN STATE AGAINST MICHIGAN STATE
- Penn State and Michigan State will face off Saturday for the 42nd time in program history. The Nittany Lions lead the all-time series, 23-16-2.
- Last season, Penn State beat Michigan State, 3-0, in the first road conference game of the year to extend its unbeaten streak to seven games at the time. Then-freshman Liam Butts recorded his first career multi-goal game and his second game-winning goal of the season.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE
- Michigan State, led by 12th-year head coach Damon Rensing, comes to Happy Valley with a 0-2-0 record with losses to Rutgers and Michigan to start the season.
- The Spartans have been unable to find the back of the net yet this season, but not without effort. As a team, MSU is averaging 7.5 shots per game, led by Farai Mutatu who has a team-high four shots.
- In net, Hunter Morse has four saves on the year.
LAST TIME OUT
- No. 20 Penn State beat Rutgers, 2-1, Tuesday afternoon at Iron Peaks Sports & Events in Hillsborough, N.J. for its first road win of the season and its seventh-straight over the Scarlet Knights.
- Head coach Jeff Cook picked up his 200th career win as a collegiate head coach with the victory.
- Freshman Peter Mangione scored the game-winning goal for the second-straight game, finding the back of the net in the 36th minute, just about 90 seconds after Rutgers scored the equalizer.
- Junior transfer Danny Bloyou scored his first career goal and the first of the game in the ninth minute after sophomore Alex Stevenson played a long ball in from the right side to Bloyou in the box.
- Redshirt freshman Owen Elliott made his first career start in net and earned the victory with three big saves.
- The Nittany Lions start the season 2-0 for the first time since 2014 when that team started 3-0.
200 CAREER WINS
- Head coach Jeff Cook picked up his 200th career win as a collegiate head coach in Tuesday's victory at Rutgers.
- Cook has 23 years of collegiate head coaching experience, with stints at Wheaton College, Cincinnati, and Dartmouth before coming to Penn State in 2018.
- He is 20-13-5 so far in his third season as the leader of the Nittany Lions.
BIG TEN OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
- Freshman midfielder/forward Peter Mangione was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week on Wednesday, Feb. 24.
- Mangione earned the honor after scoring two-straight game-winning goals against Maryland and Rutgers and adding an assist in his first week of collegiate soccer.
- He was also named to College Soccer News' Team of the Week.
HE'S THE MAN-GIONE
- Freshman Peter Mangione had quite the first week as a collegiate soccer player.
- The Hunt Valley, Md., native scored both the game-winning goals for Penn State against No. 21 Maryland and on the road at Rutgers. He also added an assist against Maryland.
- He has five points through the first two games, good for second in the conference. His average 2.50 points per game is also second in the Big Ten and a top-20 mark in the country.
- Mangione is first in the conference and third in the nation with his two game-winners.
KUHN IN THE MIDDLE
- Junior Seth Kuhn has been a leader in the middle of the field for the Nittany Lions as a central midfielder.
- Kuhn was considered an honorable mention on Top Drawer Soccer's Team of the Week for the week of Feb. 15-21.
NEXT TIME OUT
Penn State hits the road for a two-game road stand to kick off the month of March. The Nittany Lions will first play at Michigan on Wednesday, March 3. Kickoff is currently set for 11 a.m.