ROSEMONT, Ill. – Penn State men's soccer student-athletes Danny Bloyou, Peter Mangione and Pierre Reedy were picked as Big Ten Players to Watch preseason list, as announced by the conference office Monday afternoon.
Bloyou, a senior from Accra, Ghana, earns preseason honors for the first time in his career. Bloyou returns to the high-powered Penn State offense as the leading scorer from 2020-21, with eight goals and two assists for 18 points. The forward earned Third Team All-America status from United Soccer Coaches last season as well as First Team All-Big Ten honors. He has already been tabbed as a College Soccer News Preseason Second Team All-American.
Mangione, a sophomore from Hunt Valley, Maryland, earns preseason honors for the first time in his career. The forward/midfielder also returns after his rookie year as the 2020-21 team assists leader with six while adding six goals for a tied team-high 18 points. Four of his six goals were game-winning goals, a stat that ranked first in the Big Ten and third nationally. Mangione was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team a season ago and was considered the 13th best freshmen by Top Drawer Soccer.
Reedy, a redshirt senior from Kutztown, Pennsylvania, earns preseason honors for the third-straight season and the fourth overall time in his career. The two-time team captain had a break-out season in 2020-21, scoring a career-high five goals and adding four assists for a career-best 14 total points. The midfielder collected Third Team All-America honors from United Soccer Coaches as well as First Team All-Big Ten honors. In the classroom, Reedy was named a First Team Scholar All-American by United Soccer Coaches and a CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American.
Indiana was unanimously selected as the league's preseason favorite by the nine men's soccer coaches. The Nittany Lions, the conference runner-up from the last two seasons, are picked to finish second, according to the poll.
Bloyou, Mangione, Reedy and the 2021 squad open the season under fourth-year head coach Jeff Cook on Thursday, August 26 against George Mason at Jeffrey Field.
Game admission for Penn State men's soccer regular-season games is free. Parking for all Penn State Athletics' non-football events will require a valid permit or payments of the applicable parking fee for campus lots through ParkMobile. For more information on parking, see here.
2021 BIG TEN MEN'S SOCCER PLAYERS TO WATCH LIST
Victor Bezerra, Jr., F, Indiana
Roman Celentano, Jr., GK, Indiana
Spencer Glass, Sr., D, Indiana
Ben Bender, So., M, Maryland
Malcolm Johnston, Jr., M, Maryland
Brett St. Martin, Sr., D, Maryland
Bryce Blevins, So., M, Michigan
Quin Rogers, So., M, Michigan
Marc Ybarra, Sr., M, Michigan
Michael Miller, Sr., M, Michigan State
Hunter Morse, Sr., GK, Michigan State
Farai Mutatu, Sr., F, Michigan State
Richard Bennett, Sr., M, Northwestern
Vincente Castro, Jr., M, Northwestern
Jose Del Valle, Jr., F, Northwestern
Xavier Green, Sr., M, Ohio State
Deylen Vellios, So., D, Ohio State
Laurence Wootton, So., M, Ohio State
Danny Bloyou, Sr., F, Penn State
Peter Mangione, So., F, Penn State
Pierre Reedy, Sr., M, Penn State
Oren Asher, Jr., GK, Rutgers
Pablo Ávila, Sr., M, Rutgers
Ritchie Barry, Sr., F, Rutgers
Andrew Akindele, Sr., F, Wisconsin
Tim Bielic, So., M, Wisconsin
Moritz Kappelsberger, Sr., D, Wisconsin
2021 BIG TEN MEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON POLL
1. INDIANA
2. Penn State
3. Michigan
4. Maryland
5. Michigan State
6. Rutgers
7. Ohio State
8. Northwestern
9. Wisconsin
Unanimous selection listed in ALL CAPS
