Men’s Soccer to Hit the Road to Play Against Indiana on Friday
Friday's match up will be live streamed on Big Ten Plus
Penn State at Indiana
5-5-2 | 2-2-2 B1G
4-3-5 | 2-1-2 Big Ten
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State men’s soccer will travel to Bloomington to face Indiana in a Big Ten matchup on Friday, October 11 at 7 p.m. (ET). The match will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.
LAST TIME OUT
The Nittany Lions are on a five-match undefeated streak heading into Friday’s match up. The Blue & White defeated Rutgers at home, 2-1, thanks to an Aboubacar Camara brace. The graduate student forward knocked in a Michael Hewes cross at the 49th minute. The Nittany Lions and the Scarlet Knights were level at 1-1 in the last 30 seconds of the match. Christian Dionne drew a foul in the box, which gave Penn State the penalty kick. Camara launched the ball into the back of the net to earn the Nittany Lions’ three points at home.
On their undefeated streak, Penn State has defeated Michigan State, St. John’s and Rutgers. They have tied matches with Maryland and UCLA.
Sophomore Caden Grabfelder currently leads the team offensively with nine points coming from four goals and an assist. The midfelder also leads the Nittany Lions in shots with 23. Christian Dionne is the team’s leader in assists with three.
Graduate student goalkeeper Andrew Cooke has started four of the last five matches. He has 34 saves on the season.
Penn State holds a record of 5-5-2 (2-2-2 B1G) with only four matches remaining in the regular season. The Blue & White are tied for fifth with Indiana in the conference standings
2024 PREVIEW
Head Coach Jeff Cook returns at the helm of the Penn State men's soccer program for his seventh season. The two-time Big Ten Coach of the Year will aim to return to the conference tournament finals for the fourth time in his PSU career after earning a share of the Big Ten Regular Season Title in 2023.
Assistant Coaches Clint Long (fifth season), Sean Lawlor (second season) and Oscar Umar (second season) also return to Happy Valley to help Cook make another post season run.
Penn State was picked to finish second in the Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll behind Indiana. Last season the Nittany Lions finished 10-5-4 after falling to the Hoosiers in the Big Ten Tournament Finals.
The Nittany Lions begin 2024 with five openings from last year's starting XI.
The departure of Pete Mangione up front will be vital. The forward accounted for nearly 25 percent of the Blue & White's scoring last season.
Additionally, the exit of goalkeeper Kris Shakes and defender Femi Awodesu will be felt. The duo were a part of a backline that kept opponents to .79 goals per match and seven shutouts.
Penn State returns 14 letterwinners from last season, including Big Ten All-Freshmen honoree Caden Grabfelder. The sophomore is the team's second leading goal scorer from last season behind Mangione.
The Nittany Lions also welcome 12 newcomers to the squad with six freshmen, five graduate transfers and one junior transfer.
THE B1G THREE
Mohamed Cisset, Matthew Henderson and Caden Grabfelder were all selected as Big Ten Players to Watch this preseason. The trio will look to bring their momentum from last season to 2024.
Cisset returns to Happy Valley after an eventful offseason. The defender was called up to the Malian U23 team and made the 2024 Mali Olympic roster. At the conclusion of the 2023 season, Cisset was landed as No. 74 on Top Drawer Soccer’s Post Season Top 100 Freshmen.
Larkhall, Scotland native, Henderson had a standout sophomore season as a member of a Nittany Lion backline that contributed to seven shutouts and held opponents to .79 goals per match.
Grabfelder comes back for his second season in the Blue and White. The Northampton, Pennsylvania, native had a dominant rookie season as the top returning point scorer on the 2024 roster with three goals and three assists. Grabfelder was ranked No. 14 on Top Drawer Soccer’s Post Season Top 100 Freshmen.
AYE, AYE CAPTAIN
Redshirt-junior Ben Liscum and junior Matthew Henderson were voted as co-captains this preseason by their teammates and coaching staff.
Liscum appeared in all 19 matches last season, dishing out a goal and an assist.
Henderson started all 19 matches last season, registering a goal and five assists. The defender is the team's returning assist leader.
Next Up: Indiana
SCOUTING THE HOOSIERS
Indiana is 4-3-5 overall and 2-1-2 in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers are on a four-match undefeated streak with victories over then-No. 8 Wisconsin and Kentucky and draws against then-No. 4 Ohio State and Washington. On Tuesday, Indiana overcame a 2-0 first half deficit with a brace from Tommy Mihalic and the match-winner from Michael Nesci.
Mahalic leads the Hoosiers offense with 17 points and 44 shots so far on the season. Samuel Sarver leads the squad with five assists.
In net for the Hoosiers is super senior JT Harms, who has 39 saves and has allowed 17 goals this season.
At the helm of the program is Todd Yeagley, who is in his 15th season as head coach. The Hoosiers shared the Big Ten regular season title with the Nittany Lions last year and finished in the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.
THE SERIES
Penn State is 15-39-5 against Indiana all-time. The Nittany Lions dropped their regular season match up to the Hoosiers last season. Indiana also defeated Penn State in the Big Ten conference tournament championship match, 1-0.
The last time the Nittany Lions won against the Hoosiers in the regular season was in 2015 under then-head coach Bob Warming. In 2021, Penn State won the conference title against Indiana, 3-0 under Jeff Cook.
Follow the Nittany Lions
Visit GoPSUSports.com for more information on Penn State men’s soccer. Fans can keep up to date with the Nittany Lion men’s soccer team on X and Instagram @PennStateMSOC, in addition to the team’s Facebook page at /PSUMensSoccer.