UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The 14th-ranked Penn State men's soccer team looks to continue its run in the 2020-21 Big Ten Tournament with a semifinal match-up against No. 3-seed Michigan at Jeffrey Field on Wednesday, April 14. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. and will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network with Dean Linke (pxp) and Patrick Doody (analyst) on the call.
GAME INFORMATON
- Date: Wednesday, April 14, 2021 | Time: 5 p.m. ET
- Location: University Park, Pa. | Venue: Jeffrey Field
- Live Stats: GoPSUsports.com | Watch: Big Ten Network
PENN STATE IN THE BIG TEN TOURNAMENT
- Penn State is 31-22-5 (.577) all-time in the Big Ten Tournament since it started in 1991.
- The Nittany Lions are the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament for the second-straight season. They beat No. 7-seed Ohio State in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals for the second-straight season, their first back-to-back semifinal appearance since 2013-14.
- Penn State is 7-6-0 all-time as a two-seed but is 5-6-0 against a three-seed.
- The Nittany Lions are 3-3-0 against the Wolverines in tournament play. Last season, Penn State was knocked out of the tournament by Michigan in the semifinals match, 1-0.
PENN STATE AGAINST MICHIGAN
- Penn State and Michigan face off Wednesday for the 27th time in program history and the seventh time in the Big Ten Tournament.
- The all-time series is tied, 11-11-4, as is the conference tournament series, 3-3-0.
- The Nittany Lions and the Wolverines did not meet during the regular season as the match was postponed due to positive COVID-19 results among Penn State's Tier 1 personnel. With the shortened season, the game was not rescheduled.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN
- The Michigan Wolverines are led by ninth-year head coach Chaka Daley. They finished the regular season with a 5-3-1 record to earn the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, and then went on to beat No. 6-seed Michigan State, 1-0, in the quarterfinals Saturday.
- Michigan sits at No. 21 by Top Drawer Soccer in this week's poll while dropping out of the top 25 in the United Soccer Coaches rankings. The Wolverines are still the highest team receiving votes.
- Junior Kevin Buca and senior Marc Ybarra pace Michigan with nine points each. Buca has three goals and three assists while Ybarra has two goals and a team-high five assists. Senior Jackson Ragen leads the Wolverines with four goals. Twelve Michigan players have recorded at least one point in 2020-21.
- In net, sophomore goalkeeper Owen Finnerty holds a 0.72 goals-against average and .778 save percentage with 21 saves. He has four total shutouts, including one in the quarterfinals Saturday against Michigan State.
LAST TIME OUT
- Penn State extended its unbeaten streak to six games with a 3-1 win over No. 7-seed Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals Saturday.
- The Nittany Lions were led offensively by junior transfer Danny Bloyou's career-high five-poinnt performance with two goals and one assist. It marked the forward's second multi-goal game of the season.
- Freshman Tyger Evans had what would be the game-winning goal for Penn State, the first of his career.
- Freshman Peter Mangione and sophomore Alex Stevenson both added assists, while redshirt senior Pierre Reedy recorded two assists, his first multi-assist game of the season.
NATIONAL RECOGNITION
- Penn State moved into the top 15 this week for the first time in the 2020-21 season at No. 14 in the United Soccer Coaches poll. The team remains No. 19 in Top Drawer Soccer's rankings.
- The Nittany Lions are also the highest-ranked Big Ten team in the latest NCAA RPI standings at No. 23.
NEXT TIME OUT
The winner of the semifinal match between Penn State and Michigan will play the winner of the Indiana/Maryland semifinal match in the Big Ten Tournament Championship on Saturday, April 17. The game will be played on the campus of the highest remaining seed.