No. 20 Penn State Set to Host Michigan State SaturdayNo. 20 Penn State Set to Host Michigan State Saturday
Mark Selders

No. 20 Penn State Set to Host Michigan State Saturday

Opens in a new window Game Notes

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

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.