Penn State men's soccer weekly preview

Penn State wraps up its regular season this week with a Wednesday non-conference clash with Detroit Mercy and a date with Big Ten rival Wisconsin on Sunday.

Last week’s action

On Tuesday, Penn State traveled to New Brunswick to take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

The scarlet and white opened the scoring in the 18th minute after Matthew Acosta’s shot deflected off a Nittany Lion defender and trickled past Kris Shakes.

Rutgers doubled their lead in the 33rd minute when Ola Maeland blasted a shot from just inside the 18-yard box and into the top left corner.

Penn State finally found the back of the net in the 89th minute when Peter Magione showed a touch of class following a Van Danielson shot that struck the post, but it came a little too late as Rutgers hung on to win 2-1.

On Sunday, the Nittany Lions returned home to host the Michigan Wolverines.

Caden Grabfelder opened up the scoring for the blue and white with a stellar curling strike in the 17th minute.

Five minutes later, Magione scored his team-leading eighth goal of the season to make it 2-0 Penn State.

In the 69th minute, Mangione's fellow co-captain Femi Awodesu got himself on the board off a penalty that the senior defender drew himself following a magnificent run.

Morgan Marshall wrapped up an excellent day for the blue and white with his first collegiate goal in the 81st minute.

The Matchups

After last week's results, Penn State moved to 8-3-3. The Nittany Lions are now getting ready to face the 4-7-3 Knights for the 3rd time in program history.

Penn State leads the all-time series 2-0 and has never conceded against Detroit Mercy, winning 2-0 in both previous matchups.

Detroit Mercy comes to University Park having rebounded after some early season struggles. The Knights started the season 0-6-0, but following a 3-2 win over Cleveland State, the red and blue have claimed points in five of the following six matches.

The Knights are coming off a 2-1 road win against Wright State but have generally struggled away from Titan Field as they are 2-6-0 on the road this season.

Kick-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Tim Allos is a player to watch out for from the Knights. The sophomore forward is used primarily off the bench but has been immensely influential on the pitch, as he is tied for the team lead with two goals and has five goal contributions on the campaign.

Wisconsin is currently sitting at 5-4-5 on the season and will be coming off a matchup with instate rival Milwaukee on Tuesday.

This will be the 39th-ever matchup between the two Big Ten powerhouses, a series in which the blue and white leads 23-12-3. The Nittany Lions are currently on a six-match win streak when facing the Badgers dating back to 2017.

Wisconsin has been quite successful at McClimon Track/Soccer Complex this season. The Badgers have a 4-1-3 record at home and had their most iconic moment of the season, a 1-0 victory over at the time No. 2 Kentucky.

Drew Brown is a player to keep an eye on for the Badgers. The sophomore defender has played 1198 out of a possible 1260 minutes this season and has been the anchor of their backline.

Kick-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Ben Palillo is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email bgp5079@psu.edu.