Men's Soccer Faces No. 4 Penn State
Oct 02 | Men's Soccer
Game Notes | | BTN Plus
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (October 2, 2014) - The Rutgers men's soccer team will be taking on its third-straight nationally ranked squad when the Scarlet Knights travel to two-time defending Big Ten regular season champions, No. 4 Penn State, on Saturday on BTN Plus.
BACK ON THE ROAD
Following a 0-0 double overtime draw with No. 16 Michigan State last Sunday, the Rutgers men's soccer team returns to the road to take on two-time defending Big Ten Regular Season Champion Penn State on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Following Saturday's contest with the Nittany Lions, RU will make the drive down Route 1 to meet up with Princeton on Tuesday night before returning home to Yurcak Field for a four-game homestand.
WELCOME TO THE B1G SHOW
The Scarlet Knights are currently 1-1-1 in the Big Ten and 1-0-1 on the road in their new conference, which includes a 3-2 overtime win at Wisconsin, RU's first ever B1G win, and a 0-0 draw with #16 Michigan State.
THIRD TIMES A CHARM
Rutgers will be taking on its third nationally ranked opponent in No. 4 Penn State on Saturday night after having played to a 2-1 loss against No. 14 Indiana on Sept. 20 and a 0-0 double overtime draw with No. 16 Michigan State last Sunday.
ABOUT PENN STATE
The Nittany Lions enter Saturday's game ranked fourth in the nation in the NSCAA/Continental Tire Men's Soccer Poll. PSU has gone undefeated in its first 10 games of the 2014 campaign and sport a 9-0-1 overall record and 3-0-0 mark in Big Ten play.
PSU is led by sophomore forward Connor Maloney, who leads the Big Ten with 16 points (7G, 2A) and is followed by redshirt senior forward Mikey Minutillo with 14 points (5G, 4A).
In goal, senior Andrew Wolverton is holding down a 0.23 goals against average and .943 save percentage, placing his name seventh nationally in the category. Additionally, Wolverton has seven shutouts under his belt.
ALL-TIME SERIES WITH PENN STATE
The Scarlet Knights and Nittany Lions are once again conference rivals with Rutgers joining the Big Ten in 2014.
The two squads battled in the Atlantic-10 from 1987-1990 including meetings in the championship game all four years.
The all-time series is tied at 8-8 with the Scarlet Knights having won the last two meetings, including last season's 4-1 win at Yurcak Field.
LAST TIME VS. PENN STATE
The Rutgers men's soccer team got an early taste of Big Ten action back on Sept. 6, 2013 as Rutgers downed eventual Big Ten regular season champion, Penn State, 4-1, for the Scarlet Knights' first victory of the 2013 season.
For Rutgers, it was the most goals scored since a 4-2 victory over Colgate on Nov. 17, 2011 during the NCAA Tournament.
As they did in their first two games of the season, the Scarlet Knights took a 1-0 lead into the half. However, against the Nittany Lions, Rutgers exploded for three second half tallies.
RU got onto the board in the 30th minute with senior forward Kene Eze putting away his second goal of the year. Eze beat out a Penn State defender at the top of the box to draw out All-Big Ten keeper Andrew Wolverton for the score.
Current junior Ross Tetro gave the Scarlet Knights a 2-0 lead on not only his first career goal, but his first career game-winner, as well, in the 49th minute of action. Eze attempted a shot from the left post which was deflected to Tetro on the opposite side of the net.
Former Scarlet Knight Mael Corboz added to the lead seven minutes later on the first of his two tallies. Off a free kick from 18 yards out, he managed to find the gap between the PSU netminder and the left post to give the Scarlet Knights a 3-0 advantage.
Penn State thwarted the shutout off a direct kick from Martin Seiler in the 63rd minute, but Rutgers answered back immediately.
Just over a minute after the Nittany Lion goal, Corboz added goal number two of the evening finding the back of the net off a corner kick from JP Correa.
Rutgers ended the night outshooting PSU, 13-11, and holding a slight, 6-5, advantage in corners.
Freshman goalkeeper David Greczek captured five saves in the victory. His counterpart, Wolverton, had three saves while giving up four goals.
COACHING CONNECTION
Saturday's game reunite Rutgers head coach Dan Donigan and Penn State head coach Bob Warming on the pitch. Donigan spent three seasons (1997-1999) as an assistant under Warming at St. Louis before taking over the helm after Warming's departure for Creighton.
From 1997-1999, the Billikens advanced to the NCAA Tournament each season, including an appearance in the 1997 national semifinals, and compiled a 47-14-7 overall record.
PICKING APART THE DEFENSE
Rutgers attempted to be just the second team on the season to find the back of the Michigan State net last weekend, but the Scarlet Knights and Spartans played to 0-0 tie.
The Spartans had allowed only 21 shots on goal in its eight games played, with the Scarlet Knights accounting for four of those attempts. The four shots on goal by RU were the second most allowed by Michigan State in 2014.
NEW IN NET
Sophomore Mitch Walier made his first career start in goal and his second appearance overall in RU's 0-0 draw with No. 16 Michigan State last Sunday. Wailer played the entire first half and registered a career-high four saves.
Walier also played in goal last season against Hofstra, making on stop in playing the entire second half.
EZE HONORED
While the Scarlet Knights are in State College taking on No. 4 Penn State, former Scarlet Knight Kene Eze will be honored at halftime of the RU-Michigan football game.
Eze is the Donald Leslie Coursen Award winner, which is presented each year to a member of the graduating class, who during his career at the university has participated in intercollegiate athletics and proved himself an athlete of outstanding ability, and has represented Rutgers to the highest of standards.
Eze's senior season saw the Scarlet Knight earn a nod to the Third Team NSCAA/Continental Tire Division I Men's Soccer All-Northeast Region squad and help his Scarlet Knights to the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament. During his senior campaign, Eze tied as the Scarlet Knights' leader in points (20) and finished the season with a team-leading eight goals along with four assists. He exploded for four goals in the AAC play-in game victory over Cincinnati, marking the most goals by a player in the American in 2013. He played a vital role as eighth-seeded Rutgers reached the conference semifinals, which included an upset victory over seventh ranked and regular season champion Louisville in the quarterfinals.
As a junior in 2012, Eze led the team in scoring with eight goals, including four game-winners, and 17 points enroute to earning Second Team All-BIG EAST honors. His four game-winners tied for seventh all-time in the Rutgers record books, which included a golden goal against Villanova and another against Louisville, giving the Scarlet Knights its first win over the Cardinals since 2008.
Upon first arriving at Rutgers, Eze made an immediate impact with the Scarlet Knights as he led the team in the Fall of 2011 with six goals and three assists for 15 points in helping RU return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five years. The Scarlet Knights upset fourth-seeded Boston College in second round action and reached the third round of the tournament for the first time since 2001.
UP NEXT
The Rutgers men's soccer team closes out its three-game road swing with a trip to Princeton to face the Tigers on Tuesday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m.
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-RU-
