MORGANTOWN — The WVU men’s soccer team welcomes its second-straight top-20 opponent in No. 17 Penn State on Friday, at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
“There are a lot of positives and momentum we can take from Monday night’s performance (against No. 3 Pitt),” WVU coach Dan Stratford said. “That’s important because this is another ranked opponent and another big-name school. So, while we do need to move on, we need to take some of the best parts from that performance from that game to help us in this one.”
Friday marks the 31st meeting between the Mountaineers (2-0) and Nittany Lions (1-0-1) but the first since 2015. All time, PSU holds a 20-8-2 advantage in the series, while the Mountaineers have gone 4-1-1 against Penn State since 2006.
WVU is attempting to win back-to-back matches against ranked opponents for the first time since Oct. 18-21, 1998, when the squad took down No. 10 St. John’s and No. 17 James Madison in a four-day span. Additionally, Stratford, who is 8-3-1 overall in his head-coaching tenure at WVU, is a perfect 4-0 in nonconference matchups since taking over the program in 2020-21.
Penn State is led by fourth-year coach Jeff Cook, who is 28-15-8 during his time in Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions are 1-0-1 on the year, with a season-opening, 1-1 draw to George Mason (Aug. 26) and a 3-0 win against Syracuse (Aug. 29).
PSU sits at No. 17 in this week’s United Soccer Coaches National Poll. The squad dropped six spots from the initial preseason poll. Additionally, Penn State, which finished 9-2-2 in 2020-21, was picked to finish second in the Big Ten Preseason Poll.
Forward Danny Bloyou and midfielder Pierre Reedy were named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List late last month. In all, PSU returns 21 players from last year’s NCAA Tournament squad.
The match is Trivia Night, as fans can play for a chance to win Nike gear, soccer tickets to future home matches, and football tickets to the LIU game on Sept. 11. Additionally, the fixture is the first of three Happy Hours this season, with half-off drinks at the concession stand from 6-7 p.m.
At the stadium ticket window on game day, tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for youth and seniors, and $3 for groups. The discounted online pricing will be available until kickoff of the match.
WVU students are admitted for free with a valid WVU Student ID.
Fans who are unable to attend the match can follow along with live stats at wvusports.com. Additionally, the match can be seen live on ESPN+, with Andrew Caridi and Liam Belan on the call, as well as heard on 91.7-FM in Morgantown.
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