Soccer: Men's

This week, the now-No. 16 Nittany Lions have fallen one spot in the latest NCAA rankings despite not losing a game. The team went 1-0-1 over the previous week; posting a 1-0 win over rival Saint Francis (Pa.) and knotted a 0-0 tie at Hartford.

Freshman goalkeeper Andrew Wolverton has been a huge factor for the Nittany Lions; (5-1-1) success this season.

For his remarkable play and two shutouts this past week, he was honored as a member of the TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week.

This announcement came a week after he was selected as the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Week.

It is also the second consecutive week that a Nittany Lion has been commended for their great play by TopDrawerSoccer.com. Last week, sophomore forward Jordan Tyler was selected to the team for his two goals in the squad's 3-0 victory over St. Peters.

So far this season, Wolverton, along with the experienced backline, is the reason that the Lions are leading the Big Ten in most defensive categories.

Wolverton has posted six shutouts in seven games.

He is four shutouts shy of the Penn State single season record for shutouts, held by three previous goalies; Angelo Nickas (1980), Whit Gibson (1998) and Conrad Taylor (2005).

Penn State leads the Big Ten in goals allowed with three and is allowing a Big Ten best 0.43 goals/game
The team also leads the conference in goals allowed average with a remarkable 0.42; allowing just the three goals in 650 minutes of play; all of which Wolverton was in the net.

The entire team appreciates the great job that Wolverton has been doing in the goal, especially the backline and is looking forward to him getting even better.

"Andrew, every game, he's gaining confidence and as a true freshman, that's what you need," junior defender Brian Forgue said. "We are just fortunate enough to be able to give him the help that he needs, to continue to grow as a collegiate player."

The team now looks ahead to their Friday night clash at No. 7 Indiana for each team's conference opener in Big Ten play.