No. 6 Indiana Hosts Penn State on Saturday Night & win 1-0

[snowling]

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The No. 6 Indiana University men's soccer team will host Big Ten rival Penn State on Saturday night at Jerry Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium.

Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET in Bloomington. The match will also be streamed live online on BTN Plus. Live stats for the match can be found at IUHoosiers.com.

The first 500 fans at Saturday night's match will receive Hoosier Army scarves. Fans will be given vouchers when they arrive that can be exchanged for the scarf at halftime.

SETTING THE SCENE
• The No. 6-ranked Indiana Hoosiers enter Saturday's match with the Nittany Lions coming off the team's first loss of the season, a 4-0 setback at No. 1 Notre Dame on Tuesday.
• IU's unbeaten 10-game streak to start the season was the first for the program since 1997 and was the ninth-best start in team history.
• Despite the loss to Notre Dame, the Hoosiers have posted a record of 2-1-2 against ranked teams this season, posting wins over California and Butler and earning draws against Stanford and Maryland.
• MF Tanner Thompson and F Richard Ballard lead the Hoosiers' offense, with each accounting for a team-high 13 points on the strength of four goals and two assists on the season apiece.
• In goal, Colin Webb has posted six shutouts on the season for the Hoosiers - tops in the Big Ten.
• The Hoosiers come in to the 2016 season coming off another terrific season in 2015, reaching the NCAA Tournament for a record 29-straight season and 40th overall in program history.

SCOUTING THE NITTANY LIONS
• The Penn State Nittany Lions enter Saturday's match with the Hoosiers with an overall record of 4-5-1 on the season and a mark of 2-2-0 in Big Ten league play.
• Penn State enters the weekend having dropped three of their last four matches, with the only win coming against Wisconsin, 2-1, in double overtime.
• In Big Ten play, the Nittany Lions have recorded wins over Wisconsin and Ohio State, with the team's losses in conference coming at Maryland, 3-2, in overtime and 2-0 at Michigan last weekend.
• Penn State has also recorded wins over Oakland and James Madison this season, while also playing 2015 NCAA Champion Stanford to a draw in the squad's season opener.
• Last season, Penn State finished the season with a 7-8-3 record on the season with a mark of 2-4-2 in Big Ten play.
• In the Big Ten Tournament, the Nittany Lions beat Michigan State before falling to Ohio State, 1-0, in overtime.
• In a preseason poll conducted of the Big Ten's coaches, Penn State was tabbed to finish eighth in the league. Evan Finney, Connor Maloney and Robby Sagel were named to the Big Ten's Soccer Preseason Honors List.

SERIES HISTORY
• In the overall history between Indiana and Penn State dating back to 1978, the Hoosiers hold a record of 29-14-2 over the Nittany Lions.
• Penn State has had the best of the series in the last four meetings, posting a record of 3-0-1 over the Hoosiers.
• IU's last win over the Nittany Lions came back in 2012, winning 1-0 in double overtime.
• Overall, Indiana is 15-4-1 against Penn State at Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington. IU has outscored PSU, 77-50, in the overall series.

HOOSIERS IN THE NATIONAL POLLS
• The Hoosiers are ranked No. 6 in the nation by the NSCAA and College Soccer News.
• Indiana is ranked No. 7 by Soccer America and No. 9 by Top Drawer Soccer.
• In the second NCAA RPI rankings released on Monday, the Hoosiers moved up 37 spots to No. 27.

UP NEXT
• The Indiana Hoosiers will head south to play the No. 2-ranked Louisville Cardinals on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. ET.
• The two programs have met 23 times dating back to the 1981 season, with the Hoosiers holding a record of 18-4-1 over the Cardinals.
• Last season, IU took down Louisville, 2-1, at Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington.

@IUMensSoccer
• For all the latest on Indiana University men's soccer, be sure to follow the team at @IUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.

Live stats and game notes within:

http://iuhoosiers.com/news/2016/10/...diana-hosts-penn-state-on-saturday-night.aspx

Go Hoosiers!

 

[snowling]

Cory Thomas finds the net at the 36m mark.
Defense gets another shutout and IU gets a 1-0 win. GBR!

Boxscore:
http://iuhoosiers.com/boxscore.aspx?path=msoc&id=11613

Go Hoosiers!

 

[snowling]

Thomas’ First Career Goal Lifts No. 6 Indiana Past PSU, 1-0

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The No. 6 Indiana University men's soccer team defeated the Penn State Nittany Lions, 1-0, on Saturday night at Jerry Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington.

With the victory, the Hoosiers improve to 7-1-4 on the season overall and to 2-0-3 in Big Ten conference play. With the loss, the Nittany Lions falls to 4-6-1 on the year and to 2-3-0 in league action.

"That was a really good win tonight," IU head coach Todd Yeagley said following the match. "Penn State, like I said before the game, is a nice team and have some really good attackers. I thought overall we weren't at our best, and credit Penn State for some of that, but this will be an important win for us heading in to the last part of the Big Ten season."

Redshirt sophomore Cory Thomas netted his first career goal in the 36th minute to lead the Hoosiers to the victory, while classmate Trevor Swartz recorded his second assist of the season.

In goal, IU's Colin Webb had a terrific match, registering four saves en route to his Big Ten-leading seventh shutout of the season. Webb's 27 career shutouts rank ninth all-time in IU history.

Looking for a goal over midway through the first half, Swartz controlled the ball at the top-right corner of the 18-yard box. With the PSU defense charging at him, Swartz played a great pass to get Thomas in behind the backline.

Thomas charged at the Nittany Lions' goalie, cracking a blistering shot high and to the near post, beating the PSU keeper for his first career score.

Coming out of halftime leading 1-0, the Webb and the Hoosiers' defense did a great job to thwart any potential Penn State rally. In the final 45 minutes, Webb made a pair of diving saves to keep the Nittany Lions off the scoreboard, preserving the one-goal IU advantage and the victory.

For the match, Indiana out-shot Penn State, 16-12, with IU getting six shots on-goal to five for PSU. Corner kicks and saves were both even at five apiece.

The No. 6 Hoosiers will be back in action on Tuesday, when the team heads south to play at No. 2 Louisville. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.

For all the latest on Indiana University men's soccer, be sure to follow the team at @IUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.

Boxscore within:
http://iuhoosiers.com/news/2016/10/...l-lifts-no-6-indiana-past-penn-state-1-0.aspx

Go Hoosiers!

 

[mazz]

Man, I had such high hopes for this group. I just don't understand why Yeagley seems to encourage these 1-0 victories over an average team. Shots on goal and corners were close to even. This game shouldn't have been close, especially after the beat down in the last game. I understand the philosophy but not when you have more talent than your opponent. Which, IU has had arguably every game this year. Hopefully they get it figured out.