Men's Soccer Closes Out B1G Play at Penn State
Oct 20 | Men's Soccer
PISCATAWAY, N .J. - The Rutgers men's soccer team travels to Penn State to face the Nittany Lions in its final Big Ten regular season game on Friday at 7 p.m. at Jeffrey Field.
| Game Fourteen - Penn State (6-6-2, 3-3-0 Big Ten) | |
| Date | Friday, Oct. 21 |
| Time | 7 p.m. EST |
| Location | Jeffrey Field |State College, Pa. |
| Video | GoPSUSports Video |
| Live Stats | |
| Statistics | Rutgers | Penn State |
| Game Notes | Rutgers | Penn State |
BIG TEN PLAY CONCLUDES
Three more games remain in the regular season for the Rutgers men's soccer team. The Scarlet Knights wrap up Big Ten play on Friday night at Penn State.
RU is coming off a four-game homestand that included a pair of overtime games against Big Ten opponents. The Scarlet Knights played Michigan to a 0-0 double overtime draw and fell 2-1 to Northwestern in overtime.
In their last outing, a setback to NJIT on Tuesday night, senior goalkeeper David Greczek tied his season-high with nine stops. The Highlanders outshot RU, 15-11, with leading scorer Jason Wright pacing the Scarlet Knights with three attempts.
Wright almost got Rutgers onto the scoreboard in the 72nd minute. Ryan Peterson found the Kingston, Jamaica native ahead of the defense at the top of the box. Just before Wright's shot entered the goal however, the whistle was blown and the Scarlet Knights were called for the offsides.
ABOUT PENN STATE
The Nittany Lions meet the Scarlet Knights sporting a 6-6-2 overall mark and a 3-3-0 record in Big Ten play.
Penn State, in the midst of a five-game homestand at Jeffrey Field, has gone unbeaten in its last three outings, including a 1-0 victory over Pittsburgh, a 1-0 double overtime victory versus No. 19 Michigan State and a 2-2 draw with No. 22 Akron.
Looking at the stat sheet, PSU is led by Connor Maloney with 15 points (6G, 3A) and is followed by Dayonn Harris with eight points (3G, 2A). Aymar Sigue and Mason Klerks have both contributed a pair of goals on the he season.
Evan Finney has been the starting netminder in the last seven games for the Nittany Lions. He is holding down a 0.65 goals against average and .842 save percentage, leading the conference in both categories, along with a trio of shutouts.
COACHING CONNECTION
Friday night's game reunites 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.
LAST TIME VS. PENN STATE
The Rutgers men's soccer team looked to rebound after trailing 1-0 at the break but had to endure a nearly two and half hour delay due to a power outage at Yurcak Field prior to the start of the second half, before conceding a goal in the final minutes of the contest in a 2-0 loss to Penn State on Oct. 4, 2016.
Despite the Scarlet Knights' 12 shots attempts in the opening stanza, Penn State took a 1-0 lead into the intermission.
The Nittany Lions' Brian James had an interception in the midfield of Scarlet Knight territory and gave up the ball to Connor Maloney at the top of the 18. Unable to find an opening, Maloney slid the ball to his right and back to James for the goal and 1-0 PSU lead in the 10th minute.
After the break, as the two teams were about to begin second half action, Yurcak Field lost power resulting in a delay of two hours and 29 minutes before play was resumed at 10:30 p.m.
The Scarlet Knights once against controlled most of the half, outshooting the Nittany Lions, 8-4, out of the break along with four corner opportunities.
The Scarlet Knights' best chance at the equalizer came with just over four minutes left to play. Sa delivered the ball into the box to Wright, who then used a tap to Niel Guzman on his right side. Guzman played the ball back to Wright, who passed back to on-coming Sa. From 12-yards out, Sa found the clearing but his shot hit the far post.
In the closing minutes, Penn State cleared out a corner attempt by the Scarlet Knights for its second goal. While David Greczek was able to stop Riley Grant's initial shot from 12-yards out, he collected his own rebound for an open look at net.
Rutgers ended the night outshooting Penn State, 20-8, and holding a 9-1 advantage in corners.
CLOSING IN ON THE TOP 10
With his fourth goal of the season on Oct. 14 against Northwestern, junior Jason Wright collected his 65th point (27G, 11A). He is currently seven points away from joining the top 10 point leaders at Rutgers. Mike Shaw (93-96) and Richard Goodstat (`62-'64) currently stand in a tie for 10th place on the list with 72 points each.
NEWS AROUND THE NET
Goalkeeper David Greczek is currently second all-time at Rutgers in saves. The senior has made 349 stops since stepping foot "On the Banks".
Among all active Division I goalkeepers, Greczek is the NCAA Division I leader in career saves (349) and second in saves per game (4.92).
Greczek made a season-high nine saves in the double overtime draw with No. 4 Indiana and on Tuesday night against NJIT. He also recorded eight saves in contests with No. 4 Maryland, No. 7 Creighton and No. 15 FGCU.
Greczek has registered 34 career games making five or more stops in his career and 10 contests with eight or more saves.
RUTGERS CAREER SAVES
1. 363 - Joe DeMorat `84-'87
2. 349 - David Greczek `13-present
3. 303 - Steve Widdowson `94-'96
4. 275 - Jon Conway `96-'99
5. 214 - Dave Barrueta `88-'90
UP NEXT
Following Friday night's matchup with the Nittany Lions, RU returns home for its final home game on Senior Night with Columbia on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Seniors Thomas Farrell, Rayon Gibbs, David Greczek, Kieran Kemmerer, Tyler Morris, Ross Tetro, Jack Young and Mitchell Walier will be honored. The regular season concludes next Saturday at Bradley.
Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersMensSoccer) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/RUMensSoccer) for all of the latest news and updates. Fans also receive timely information, including special offers and giveaways throughout the year on both social media outlets along withwww.ScarletKnights.com.
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