Indiana men’s soccer will travel to University Park, Pennsylvania, in search of its first Big Ten win this season. The Hoosiers will face Penn State — a team that enters Saturday undefeated in conference play.
The Hoosiers
Indiana is 3-3-4 – only 0-1-2 in the Big Ten – so far this season and is currently on a three-game winless streak. The Hoosiers' last win came against Butler University on Sept. 19, and since then they lost to Michigan State and tied with Michigan and the University of Kentucky.
The Wildcats missed a penalty, and the Hoosiers missed a wide-open goal.
Against Penn State, Indiana has a 37-15-5 record over the years. More recently, the Hoosiers have won eight of the last 10 matchups against the Nittany Lions. However, Indiana’s last defeat was at University Park, a 0-3 loss in 2021.
This season, the Hoosiers are winless away from Jerry Yeagley Field – 0-2-2 so far – with losses to the University of South Florida and Michigan State.
The Hoosiers lost 2-1.
Offensively, the Hoosiers have generated several chances and average 16 shots per game but have just seven goals in 10 games this season to show for it.
Freshman forward Collins Oduro – who has two goals and one assist – and junior forward Sam Sarver – with three goals and two assists – are Indiana’s main offensive threats this season, but they haven’t scored recently. Oduro’s last goal came against DePaul University on Aug. 29 and Sarver’s last scored against Michigan State on Sept. 22.
However, senior forward Karsen Henderlong has been on the rise lately with five shots against Michigan – one hitting the post – and a goal against Kentucky.
Defensively, the Hoosiers have reduced opponents to only six goals and an average of seven shots per game in 10 games so far.
The scoreless draw saw very few chances for both sides.
The Nittany Lions
Penn State has only one loss this season (to the University of Pennsylvania) and is undefeated in its three conference games so far. The Nittany Lions were on a four-game winning streak before tying Michigan State on Oct. 1 in East Lansing, Michigan.
With 17 goals so far, the Nittany Lions average 1.7 goals and 11 shots per game. The Pennsylvanian team has many scoring threats, the main one being senior forward Peter Mangione with four goals and one assist.
Penn State also counts on fifth-year senior forward Liam Butts with three goals and two assists and fifth-year senior defender Alex Stevenson with two goals and two assists in ten games this season.
In the defense, Penn State has allowed only six goals all season and has an average of 11 shots against per game. In goal, fifth-year senior goalkeeper Kris Shakes averages 3.4 saves per game.
The Hoosiers play the Nittany Lions at noon Saturday at Jeffrey Field, and the match will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
Follow reporters Leo Paes (@Leordpaes) and Jovanni Salazar (@jio_duz_it) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s soccer season.
