UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's soccer team, under fourth-year head coach Jeff Cook, returns to Big Ten Conference play with a road match at Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich. on Friday, Oct. 1. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. from Demartin Stadium and will stream live on B1G+.
GAME INFORMATION
- Date: Friday, Oct. 1, 2021 | Time: 7 p.m. ET
- Location: East Lansing, Mich. | Venue: Demartin Stadium
- Live Stats: msuspartans.com | Watch: B1G+ ($)
LAST TIME OUT
- Penn State was topped by Princeton, 1-0, Saturday afternoon at Sherrerd Field.
- Penn State controlled a lot of the game through the first 20 minutes with some good chances in the box, but the Princeton defense stood solid to clear the ball and keep the Nittany Lions out of the back of the net.
- On the opposite end, the Penn State defense stayed composed on the Princeton counterattacks as the Tigers threatened, especially on corner kicks.
- In the 44th minute, the Tigers had an initial shot blocked and then a cross sent in on the rebound was finished at the far post to give the home team a 1-0 lead into the break.
- The Nittany Lions got their first shot on goal in the 57th minute by Brandon Hackenberg but it went right at the Tigers' keeper.
- Penn State had its chances to find the equalizer, but Princeton would hold on for the 1-0 victory.
MANGIONE MAGIC HAT TRICK TO BIG TEN CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
- Forward/midfielder Peter Mangione had three goals against Villanova (9/21) for a single-game career-high six points.
- It marked the program's first hat trick since Corey Hertzog did so against Old Dominion in the NCAA Tournament in 2010 (11/21/10).
- The hat trick earned Mangione a Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week nod along with Michigan's Kevin Buca who also had a hat trick. It's Mangione's second career weekly award from the conference.
- Mangione now has a team-high five goals this season, one shy of tying his career best of six last season as a freshman. His goal total leads the Big Ten and is 26th in the nation.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE
- Michigan State is led by 13th-year head coach Damon Rensing and is 4-1-1 overall and 0-1-1 in Big Ten play. The Spartans are coming off a narrow 1-0 home loss to Indiana in their Big Ten home opener on Sunday.
- Senior Farai Mutatu paces the Spartans with 11 total points on a team-high five goals and one assist. Mutatu is tied with Nittany Lions Peter Mangione and Andrew Privett for most points in the league while he and Mangione also pace the Big Ten in total goals.
- Senior Jack Beck leads Michigan State with six assists and has one goal for eight total points. Seven other players have recorded at least one point this season.
- In net, the Spartans have seen a total of four different keepers, but redshirt senior Hunter Morse has played the most minutes at 540:00. Morse holds a 1.33 goals-against average and a 0.636 save percentage with 14 saves. He had a clean sheet against Duquesne in the Spartans' last nonconference game (9/21).
PENN STATE AGAINST MICHIGAN STATE
- Penn State holds a 23-17-2 all-time series advantage over Michigan State.
- However, the Spartans have had a 4-1-0 edge in the last five matchups over the Nittany Lions, including a 1-0 win last season in Holuba Hall with a goal in the final three minutes of the game.
- The last time Penn State was in East Lansing, the Nittany Lions won 3-0 including a brace by then-freshman Liam Butts (10/1/19).
NEXT TIME OUT
Penn State concludes a three-game road stretch at No. 24 Rutgers on Tuesday, Oct. 5 in Piscataway, N.J. The match will broadcast live on Big Ten Network at 6 p.m. ET as the Nittany Lions face their first ranked conference opponent of 2021.