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he was scared for him but impressed by the Lion's trust in the students, since the section is as steep as building codes allow. Penn State's only problem on opening night was the amount of penalties it took. The team was penalized 11 times, successfully killing 10. Gadowsky jokingly blamed it on Battista. Earlier in the day, Battista had warned Gadowsky, "We just cannot take a lot of penalties because we are so jacked up. " Jensen and Goodwin attributed the penalty minutes to the fact that the team was amped up for its first game in the new arena. Said Goodwin, "With the hype, it makes it that much harder to control your adrenaline. " Adding to the energy in the arena, Pegula addressed the team at about 6:45 p.m. Gadowsky had been hoping that the gathering would take place earlier in the day because he expected it to have a big impact on his players. As it turned out, he was right. "After he spoke to the team, the guys were absolutely ready to tear through metal," Gadowsky said. "I was feeling really cool [about tonight], and then Pegula ruined everything. " Gadowky said that Pegula referenced a couple of movies and complimented everyone on their impact in making "Hockey Valley" a reality. Pegula said there were a couple of NHL teams that might be jealous of their new facility. Army head coach Brian Riley said it was a thrill to be part of the arena's debut. He complimented the staff at Penn State for their patience in dealing with the possibility that the Black Knights would have to back out of the game due to the government shutdown. Penn State had been working on a backup plan to play Canisius, but earlier in the week, Army confirmed that it would be able to make the trip. "It was an unbelievable experience being here tonight, Riley said. "What " they have and what they are going to I build here is truly amazing. " VARSITY VIEWS STOPPING POWER Wolverton's performance has Lions feeling upbeat | e was one of the best high school goalkeepers in the nation, and grew up in one of the biggest cities in the country, yet the particular nature of American soccer meant Andrew Wolverton couldn't play big-time college soccer anywhere close to home. Wolverton is from Atlanta, a town that certainly knows big-time college sports – just not this one. The Atlantic Coast Conference is arguably the best league in college soccer, but longtime member Georgia Tech doesn't field a varsity men's squad. Only two Southeastern Conference schools play, and Georgia isn't one of them. The South's loss in this case was Penn State's gain. A 6-foot-6 junior, Wolverton has led from the back this season for a Nittany Lion team with legitimate NCAA tournament hopes. At press time, the season highlight was a 2-0 victory at Indiana, the longtime Big Ten power and defending national champion. The victory, part of a 4-0 start in conference play, also marked Penn State's first shutout in Bloomington. "It was a huge win for us," Wolverton said. "I didn't know it was the first shutout until after the game, but it's a lot more than just me. Going in and doing something like that helps everyone's confidence. From a team standpoint, we're really confident right now." Confidence is invaluable for any athlete, but goalkeepers thrive on it more than most. Wolverton has rarely lacked reason for self-belief: An ESPN first-team AllAmerican as a senior at Atlanta's St. Pius X High School, he was already in the mix H with the U.S. U-18 national team. Knowing he would have to travel for college, he narrowed his choices to Michigan State, UNC-Charlotte and Penn State before choosing the Nittany Lions. Originally recruited by Barry Gorman, Wolverton stuck with Penn State through the transition to coach Bob Warming, who took over the program in 2010. Wolverton started every game as a freshman in 2011, leading the Big Ten with an .821 save percentage and .60 goals-against average for a Penn State team that struggled to a .500 record. If confidence was ever an issue, it might have been last year, when he split time in goal with senior Emmanuel Martin. He regained the starting job coming into this season and through late October had played every minute in goal, posting five shutouts during the Lions' 9-3-1 start and making a career-high nine saves in a 2-1 double-overtime victory at Michigan State. In soccer as much as any sport, defenses thrive when offenses control the ball and score. The Lions scored eight goals in their first three Big Ten games, and Wolverton is happy to credit the offense for helping keep things quiet in the back. "It's been a pretty good season for me and the defense," he said, "but when we're scoring, that takes off so much pressure." Wolverton has shown himself up for the pressure. He saved a second-half penalty at Indiana, and point-blank saves against the Hoosiers and in a 3-1 home win against Michigan proved vital in the Lions' unbeaten league start. He grew up hoping to emulate Edwin van der Sar, the

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