# 2019 Penn State Nittany Lions men's soccer team

The 2019 Penn State Nittany Lions men's soccer team represented Pennsylvania State University during the 2019 NCAA Division I men's soccer season and the 2019 Big Ten Conference men's soccer season. The regular season began on August 30 and concluded on November 3. It was the program's 107th season fielding a men's varsity soccer team, and their 29th season in the Big Ten Conference. The 2019 season is Jeff Cook's second year at the helm.

## Background

The 2018 season was the Nittany Lions' 106th season as a varsity soccer program, and their 28th season playing in the Big Ten Conference. The team was led by first year head coach, Jeff Cook, who had previously served as an assistant coach for the professional soccer team, Bethlehem Steel of USL Championship.

## Player movement
### Departures

| Name | Number | Position | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Brennan Ireland | 4 | DF | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 170 | Senior | Annapolis, MD | Graduated |
| Austin Maloney | 9 | MF | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) | 150 | Senior | Harrisburg, PA | Graduated |
| Mac Curran | 14 | FW | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 185 | Senior | York, PA | Graduated |
| Dani Marks | 18 | DF | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 185 | RS-Senior | Ra'anana, ISR | Graduated |
| Ryan Gallagher | 19 | DF | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 170 | RS-Senior | Pine Bush, NY | Graduated |
| Noah Pilato | 21 | MF | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | 140 | RS-Senior | Oak Hill, VA | Graduated; signed for Loudoun United FC in USLC |

### Arrivals

| Name | Nat. | Hometown | High School | Club | TDS Rating |
| Liam Butts FW | USA | Lawrenceville, GA | Grayson | Atlanta United | |
| Owen Elliott GK | USA | Philadelphia, PA | Chestnut Hill (PA) | SJEB Rush | |
| Michael Gaines DF | USA | Oxon Hill, MD | Gonzaga (DC) | D.C. United | |
| Kyle May MF | USA | Lebanon, PA | Cedar Crest (PA) | PA Classics | |
| Omar Ozbay MF | USA | Morganville, NJ | Marlboro (NJ) | Baltimore Celtic | NR |
| Andrew Privett MF | USA | Fallston, MD | McDonogh | Baltimore Celtic | |
| Kris Shakes GK | USA | Sunrise, FL | YSC Academy | Philadelphia Union | |
| Alex Stevenson DF | USA | Bel Air, MD | C. Milton Wright | Baltimore Armour | |
| Jalen Watson DF | CAN | Toronto, ON | U-Hill (BC) | Vancouver Whitecaps | |

### Transfers

| Name | Nat. | No. | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Seth Kuhn | USA | 17 | MF | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | Sophomore | Wyomissing, PA | Transferred from Duke |
| Will Campbell | USA | 20 | DF | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | Graduate | Wallington, PA | Transferred from North Carolina |

## Preseason
### Preseason Big Ten poll

Penn State was predicted to finish 6th in the Big Ten Conference.
Coaches' Poll :
| Predicted finish | Team |
| 1 | Indiana |
| 2 | Maryland |
| 3 | Michigan |
| 4 | Michigan State |
| 5 | Wisconsin |
| 6 | Penn State |
| 7 | Northwestern |
| 8 | Ohio State |
| 9 | Rutgers |

## Squad
### Roster

    As of September 26, 2019
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | USA | Josh Levine |
| 2 | DF | USA | Mason Deeds |
| 3 | DF | USA | Brandon Hackenberg |
| 4 | DF | CAN | Jalen Watson |
| 5 | MF | ENG | Callum Pritchatt |
| 6 | MF | USA | Andrew Privett |
| 7 | FW | USA | Liam Butts |
| 8 | MF | IRL | Aaron Molloy (co-captain) |
| 11 | MF | USA | Pierre Reedy (co-captain) |
| 12 | MF | USA | Nicholas Rieple |
| 13 | GK | USA | Kris Shakes |
| 14 | DF | USA | Michael Gaines |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | DF | USA | Adam Laundree |
| 16 | MF | USA | Keegan Ness |
| 17 | MF | USA | Seth Kuhn |
| 18 | DF | USA | Alex Stevenson |
| 19 | MF | USA | Omar Ozbay |
| 20 | DF | USA | Will Campbell |
| 21 | MF | USA | Kyle May |
| 22 | MF | CRC | Daniel Gonzalez |
| 23 | FW | USA | Kyle Perno |
| 24 | FW | USA | Christian Sload |
| 25 | DF | USA | Dax Hoffman |
| 26 | FW | USA | Josh Dabora |
| 27 | GK | USA | Owen Elliott |

### Team management

Front office :
| Athletic Director | Sandy Barbour |
| Deputy Director of Athletics | Lynn Holleran |
| Deputy Director of Athletics | Scott Sidwell |
| Coaching staff ||
| Head coach | Jeff Cook |
| Assistant coach | Greg Dalby |
| Assistant coach | Ayotunde Ogunbiyi |
| Volunteer assistant coach | Jyler Noviello |
Last updated: September 6, 2019 Source: Penn State Athletics

## Schedule

| Date Time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (Attendance) City, State |
| Preseason ||||||
| August 17* 7:00 p.m. | | Georgetown | Not reported | | Jeffrey Field State College, PA |
| August 24* 7:00 p.m. | | Syracuse | L 0–1 | | Jeffery Field State College, PA |
| Regular season ||||||
| August 30* 7:00 p.m. | | No. 5 Stanford | L 0–5 | 0–1–0 | Jeffrey Field (1,537) State College, PA |
| September 2* 7:00 p.m. | | at Stony Brook | W 4–1 | 1–1–0 | Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium (618) Stony Brook, NY |
| September 6* 7:00 p.m., Twitch | | at No. 15 UCF | T 2–2 $^{2OT}$ | 1–1–1 | UCF Soccer and Track Stadium (706) Orlando, FL |
| September 8* 1:00 p.m. | | at Stetson | W 2–0 | 2–1–1 | Spec Martin Stadium (312) DeLand, FL |
| September 13* 7:00 p.m. | | Villanova | W 1–0 | 3–1–1 | Jeffrey Field (805) State College, PA |
| September 21 7:00 p.m. | | at Ohio State | W 2–1 $^{OT}$ | 4–1–1 (1–0–0) | Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium (697) Columbus, OH |
| September 27 6:00 p.m., BTN | No. 20 | Michigan Mack Brady Match | T 0–0 $^{2OT}$ | 4–1–2 (1–0–1) | Jeffrey Field (1,985) State College, PA |
| October 1 6:00 p.m., BTN | No. 20 | at Michigan State | W 3–0 | 5–1–2 (2–0–1) | DeMartin Stadium (523) East Lansing, MI |
| October 6 1:00 p.m., BTN+ | No. 20 | No. 8 Indiana | L 1–3 | 5–2–2 (2–1–1) | Jeffrey Field (925) State College, PA |
| October 12 7:00 p.m. | No. 22 | Northwestern | W 3–2 $^{OT}$ | 6–2–2 (3–1–1) | Jeffrey Field (953) State College, PA |
| October 15* 7:00 p.m. | | Pittsburgh Keystone Clasico | W 3–1 | 7–2–2 | Jeffrey Field (509) State College, PA |
| October 19 7:00 p.m. | | at Wisconsin | W 2–1 | 8–2–2 (4–1–1) | Dan McClimon Stadium (425) Madison, WI |
| October 22* 7:00 p.m. | No. 19 | No. 18 James Madison | T 1–1 | 8–2–3 | Jeffrey Field (393) State College, PA |
| October 25* 7:00 p.m. | No. 19 | Appalachain State | W 4–0 | 9–2–3 | Jeffrey Field (615) State College, PA |
| October 29* 6:00 p.m., BTN | No. 16 | No. 17 Maryland Senior Night | W 3–2 $^{OT}$ | 10–2–3 (5–1–1) | Jeffrey Field (657) State College, PA |
| November 3 3:00 p.m. | No. 16 | at Rutgers | W 2–1 $^{OT}$ | 11–2–3 (6–1–1) | Yurcak Field (1,167) Piscataway, NJ |
| Big Ten Tournament ||||||
| November 10 1:00 p.m., BTN+ | (2) No. 13 | (7) Wisconsin Quarterfinals | W 3–0 | 12–2–3 | Jeffrey Field (678) State College, PA |
| November 15 4:00 p.m., BTN | (2) No. 13 | vs. (3) Michigan Semifinals | L 0–1 | 12–3–3 | Ludwig Field College Park, MD |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| November 24 5:00 p.m. | (15) No. 13 | No. 21 Providence Second Round | L 2–3 $^{OT}$ | 12–4–3 | Jeffrey Field (290) State College, PA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||
* ↑ The James Madison match was called off in the 72nd minute due to severe fog. The final scoreline was deemed the final score without an overtime period.

## Rankings

Ranking movement Legend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. RV=Others receiving votes. :
| Poll | Pre | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Final |
| United Soccer | NV | NV | RV | | 19 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 13 | None Released | None Released | None Released | None Released | 18 |
| Top Drawer Soccer | NV | NV | NV | RV | | | | | | | | | | |
| Soccer America | NV | NV | NV | | | | | | | | | | | |
| CollegeSoccerNews.com | NV | NV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | |

## 2020 MLS SuperDraft

| Player | Round | Pick | Position | MLS club | Ref. |
| Aaron Molloy | 1 | 16 | MF | Portland Timbers | |