| MEN'S SOCCER OPENING WEEKEND | ||
| Friday, Aug. 28 vs. San Francisco - 5:30 p.m. ET | ||
| Sunday, Aug. 30 vs. Navy - 3 p.m. ET | ||
| Jeffrey Field | University Park, Pa. | ||
| GAME DAY LINKS |
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Game Notes: Penn State | San Francisco | Navy 2014 Statistics: Penn State | San Francisco | Navy
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's soccer team is set for to open the 2015 season Friday, Aug. 28 against San Francisco at 5:30 p.m. at Jeffrey Field. The match is the first of a two-game opening weekend as Navy comes to Happy Valley for a Sunday afternoon match on Aug. 30 at 3 p.m.
PENN STATE SOCCER RETURNS
Penn State opens its campaign with two-straight home games, marking the seventh-straight season with a home match to kick off the season. During the Bob Warming era, the Nittany Lions are 5-0-0 on opening day, defeating its opponents by a combined score of 11-0. Last season, opening weekend featured a pair of shut outs over Oakland and St. John's with PSU holding a 27-3 combined shots on goal edge. In season openers overall, Penn State has won its past seven, following a five-year winless stretch in openers.
NITTANY LIONS IN AUGUST
Penn State will start its season in August for the 12th time in 19 years with the Nittany Lions holding an 11-6-0 all-time record in the month. The last Penn State loss in August was prior to Head Coach Bob Warming's arrival in 2008 against Florida Gulf Coast in a match played at Ohio State. The Lions are 6-0-0 in the month of August under Warming
ABOUT THE DONS
San Francisco enters the 2015 season coming off an 11-6-2 record in the 2014 campaign and a 5-2-0 West Coast Conference record, earning them the top spot in the preseason coaches poll. The Dons return a veteran squad for the 2015 season, including their three top-scorers and their starting goalkeeper. Top-scorer Danny Kirkland returns for his senior campaign after scoring six goals and dishing out three assists for a team-best 15 points, while both Davi Ramos and Miguel Aguilar also return for their final season with USF. Ramos added 12 points in 2014 with four goals and four assists and found the back of the net four times and had three assists for 11 points. Defensively, Chase Hauser will be the ace in the net after starting 18 games and tallying 66 saves for a 1.07 goals against average in 2014.
ABOUT THE MIDSHIPMEN
Navy saw a very successful 2014 campaign, going 11-4-5 overall on the season and an 8-1-1 record at Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. The Midshipmen return three of its top-four point scorers of the 2014 season, including Jamie Dubyoski, who notched a team-best 24 points with nine goal and six assists. Following Dubyoski, Thomas Shiiba notched 12 points with three goals and six assists, while Derek Vogel tallied 10 points with two goals and six assists. Navy will look to replace Jackson Morgan in the net after the goalkeeper started 18 matches in his senior season with a 0.58 goals against average. Sophomore Mac Burke hopes to take over the starting role after seeing action in four contests and starting two with six saves and a 1.11 goals against average.
B1G COACHES TAB PENN STATE THIRD
The No. 23 Penn State men's soccer team has been picked to finish third in the Big Ten according to the 2015 Big Ten Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll released Wednesday, Aug. 19. Maryland was picked to defend its No. 1 finish in the 2014 season after claiming both the Big Ten Championship and Tournament titles in its inaugural season in the conference, while Indiana checked in at No. 2 in the preseason poll.
THREE NITTANY LIONS LAND ON PRESEASON LISTS
Along with the preseason poll, three players from each team were named Big Ten Men's Soccer Preseason Players to Watch. The Nittany Lions were represented by redshirt-senior Matt Bersano, senior Brian James and junior Connor Maloney. Bersano transfers to Penn State after playing three seasons with the Beavers of Oregon State and graduating with a degree in speech communication, while James will look to lead the Big Ten in assists for the second-straight year after transferring to Penn State prior to the 2014 season. Finally, Maloney hopes to continue his success from the 2014 campaign when he was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year after notching 23 points, including 10 goals.
MALONEY GARNERS PRESEASON HONORS
Junior Connor Maloney was named TopDrawerSoccer 2015 Men's Division I Best XI First Team. The junior forward cappped off the 2014 season as the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year after leading the conference with 23 points on the season.
COACHING CLOUT
Among the elite coaches in the sport for the last three decades, head coach Bob Warming is back for his sixth season at Penn State. Warming has an incredible coaching pedigree, including 441 career Division I victories -- third all-time among active DI coaches and ninth all-time at D-I. He was named Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2012 and 2013 after leading PSU to a pair of league titles.
WARMING NAMES 2015 TEAM CAPTAINS
To conclude the preseason, Head Coach Bob Warming announced the 2015 team captains on Tuesday morning with Brian James, Connor Maloney and Dani Marks all earning the honor. James led the Big Ten in assists during the 2014 campaign, while Maloney is the reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year. After utilizing his redshirt season due to injury in 2014, Marks will look to make a big impact on a fresh backline for the Nittany Lions in 2015.
NITTANY LIONS HAVE STRONG PRESEASON
The Nittany Lions kicked off preseason action with an exhibition match against St. Joseph Monday, Aug. 17 at Jeffrey Field. Penn State used a goal from freshman Mac Curran off a pass from Connor Maloney to seal the 1-0 preseason victory and a shutout for the PSU defense.
In its second exhibition, Penn State shut out the West Chester Majors, 5-0, Wednesday, Aug. 19. Again, Curran and Maloney combined for the first goal of the match when Curran got his head on a hard-shot ball from Maloney inside the 18-yard box in the first half of the match.
The Nittany Lions extended their lead to 3-0 with goals from Riley Grant and Maloney before redshirt-sophomore Sam Bollinger knocked in a pair of goals that would allow Penn State to earn the 5-0 victory.
Penn State capped off the 2015 preseason Saturday, Aug. 22 when it took on St. John's inside the friendly confines of Jeffrey Field. The Nittany Lion defense continued to be a problem for opponents as it tallied its third-straight shutout of the preseason behind the goalkeeping of redshirt-senior Matt Bersano and Evan Finney.
Penn State's lone goal of the match came in the 54th-minute when Maloney tapped the ball past the keeper off passes from Dayonn Harris and Grant. In their final match of the preseason, the Nittany Lions outshot the Red Storm, 11-2, including eight shots in the second half.
Penn State outscored its opponents 7-0 in preseason play, while fans in attendance saw eight newcomers take the field for the first time against an opponent.
STARTING CORE RETURNS
Penn State returns 18 players for the 2015 season, including five who started at least 15 games during the 2014 campaign. Seniors Drew Klingenberg and Brian James look to lead a powerful offense in the 2015 campaign as they combined for 17 points, while reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Connor Maloney hopes to have a standout junior season after tallying 23 points last year. The Nittany Lions will see a different look in the back field after suffering the loss of goalkeeper Andrew Wolverton and four defensive players. Head Coach Bob Warming will look to young talent on defense and the help of transfer goalkeeper Matt Bersano, who recently graduated from Oregon State.
JEFFREY FIELD DOMINANCE
Penn State has enjoyed a success at Jeffrey Field with over 300 victories at the famed field. Impressively, the Nittany Lions have never posted a losing season at Jeffrey Field in 42 years, going 316-80-34 all-time for a winning percentage of .774. Last season, PSU went 10-3-0 and over the past three seasons the Nittany Lions are 25-6-3 (.779) en route to a pair of Big Ten titles in 2012 and 2013. In the 43-year history of the stadium, Jeffrey Field has welcomed over 533,055 fans through its gates.
IN THE RANKINGS
For the second-straight season, the Nittany Lions received a preseason ranking in the NSCAA Coaches Poll. Penn State checks in at No. 23 and will take on three opponents who were also ranked in the top-25 of the poll.
BIG TEN NETWORK SCHEDULE
Penn State is scheduled to be featured on the Big Ten Network at least three times this season. The Nittany Lions will square off against Indiana in its first Big Ten match of the season Sunday, Sept. 13 at 1 p.m. at Jeffrey Field before traveling to East Lansing, Mich. to take on Michigan State Sunday, Oct. 18 at 1 p.m. Finally, Penn State will close out the regular season at Jeffrey Field against the Wildcats of Northwestern Sunday, Nov. 1 at 1 p.m. Should PSU advance in the Big Ten Tournament, the Lions will appear on BTN for the semifinals and final. Last season, PSU was on the network three times.
The men's soccer team will be featured three times on BTN Plus on BTN2Go in the 2015 campaign. The Nittany Lions will make their first appearance Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 6 p.m. when they take on James Madison in a non-conference match at Jeffery Field. Penn State will then hit the road for two Big Ten away matches against Ohio State Sunday, Sept. 20 at 3 p.m. and Rutgers Saturday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. Along with its three matches on BTN Plus on BTN2Go, the Nittany Lions will be featured three times on the Big Ten Network during the 2015 campaign.
MACK BRADY MEMORIAL GAME
On Sept. 13, the Nittany Lions will host its third Mack Brady Memorial Game when Indiana visits Jeffrey Field. Brady passed away on Dec. 31, 2012 due to an unexpected blood infection at the age of eight. To honor his life and love for soccer (specifically goalkeeping), Mack's parents, Christian and Elizabeth Brady, created the "Mack Brady Memorial Soccer Fund." The fund is an endowment for Penn State goalkeepers to help in recruiting, equipment and other needs. Last season, PSU earned a 1-0 victory over Ohio State in front of 2,000 fans.
NEXT TIME OUT
The Nittany Lions travel to former Atlantic 10 rival Temple Friday, Sept. 4. The match is slated to start at 4:30 p.m.