Blue White Illustrated

H e wasn't even a Penn State coach yet, but Jeff Cook was quickly learning how passionate Nittany Lion fans can be about their teams. "When I came up for my interview, I tried to get into the Nittany Lion Inn as a wrestling competition was ending, and I couldn't even get turned at the light be- cause there were so many fans coming out," he said. "That's true for so many sports – women's volleyball, men's vol- leyball, etc., etc., etc." Cook is hoping it's true for men's soc- cer as well. On Jan. 2, he was named the program's 12th head coach, taking over for Bob Warming, who announced his retirement in November after eight sea- sons with the Nittany Lions. Cook, who spent the past five years with the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer and its United Soccer League affiliate, Bethlehem Steel FC, is promising to reciprocate that passion when his team takes the field next fall. "We will be extremely hungry to try to dominate games," he said. "This is Penn State University. This is one of the iconic athletic departments and academic insti- tutions in the country. So we will not sit back and hope to grind out results. We will be on the front foot, so to speak, playing aggressively, trying to dominate the possession game, but also being proactive to create scoring opportunities. As you know, that's a very difficult thing to achieve in the game of soccer. Scoring goal per game, Penn State was averaging over four shots more than second-place St. Cloud State. THE ENIGMA One of the key differ- ences between Penn State's fantastic start a year ago and its less-impressive beginning to this season was the up- and-down play of its goaltender, Peyton Jones. The netminder's .903 save per- centage through 24 games was fifth- best in the Big Ten. But despite his subpar start, Jones has shown flashes of the play that carried the Nittany Lions to a Big Ten tournament title last sea- son, as he owned a .936 save percentage over his last seven starts before the break. If Jones can continue that type of play in the season's second half, Penn State will be in good shape. THE FRESHMAN STANDOUT It was clear that Gadowsky had a high opinion of Cole Hults coming into the season when he paired Hults with Autio and gave him a role on the power play. A fifth-round draft choice of the Los An- geles Kings, Hults has made an imme- diate impact with a plus-8 rating and 15 points. He also became the first Nittany Lion named to the U.S. World Junior Championships preliminary roster but didn't make the final cut. THE UNPLEASANT SURPRISE For all their success lighting up the scoreboard this season, it's been difficult for the Nittany Lions to win a faceoff. Penn State's .492 success rate on faceoffs heading into the Michigan series was in the country's bottom third. It's been a puzzling setback after the Nittany Lions were the best team in the nation at the faceoff dot last season. THE BREAKOUT CANDIDATE Sixteen of the 26 players on Penn State's roster are underclassmen, leaving plenty of room for individual improvement. Supplying much of that potential is 18-year-old Evan Barratt, who is by far the youngest player on the roster. Barratt, a Chicago Blackhawks third-rounder, had seven goals and five assists in 18 games. On Penn State's third line, which lacks an- other strong scoring threat, Barratt's production could grow in the weeks to come. ■ BEST FOOT FORWARD New soccer coach Je Cook looks to hit the ground running | VARSITY VIEWS TOURNAMENT TESTED Cook, who has coached at both the college and pro levels, took Dart- mouth and Cincin- nati to the NCAA tournament. Photo courtesy of Penn State Athletics

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