Sept. 24, 2010
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's soccer team begins its quest towards a 13th straight Big Ten title when it hosts Michigan State on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. on BigTenNetwork.com. The Nittany Lions will be handing out giveaways as part of U.S. Youth Soccer Month.
The complete game notes can be found HERE.
GAME NOTES
LAST TIME OUT: The Penn State women's soccer team fell to Dartmouth, 1-0, at Jeffrey Field on Sunday. Despite holding an enormous shot advantage (28-9), Penn State could not find the back of the net.
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS: Michigan is riding a three-game unbeaten streak after wins over Loyola of Chicago (3-0), Bowling Green (2-0) and a scoreless draw with DePaul. Playmaker Laura Heyboer is back for the Spartans leading the way with 12 points on five goals and two assists. Sophomore Olivia Stander also has give goals, while Jill Flietstra patrols the net seeing every minute of play. The senior standout has six shutouts en route to a 0.72 goals-against average and .854 save percentage.
SERIES HISTORY: Penn State holds the all-time series lead with the Spartans by a 14-4 margin, although MSU has captured two of the past three meetings. Last season, the Lions roared back from a 2-0 deficit in East Lansing behind goals from Christine Nairn and Katie Schoepfer to force overtime. There, Laura Heyboer struck on a breakaway to take the match 3-2 in the teams' Big Ten openers. The last time MSU visited Happy Valley, PSU came away with a 2-0 win on October 12, 2007.
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BUCKNELL BREAKOUT: Penn State snapped its five-game skid in emphatic fashion with a 5-1 thrashing of Bucknell on Wednesday night at Jeffrey Field. Maya Hayes scored a first half goal before PSU unleashed a four-goal second-half barrage.  Hayes has now scored in each of her last three games. Danielle Toney led the Lions with two goals, while freshman Taylor Schram notched three points in the second half. Christine Nairn notched two assists from midfield, while Bri Hovington supplied her first collegiate point with an assist. Hayley Brock capped the scoring in the 76th minute as PSU improved to 14-0-1 all-time vs. Bucknell. The Nittany Lions are now 25-3-2 all-time when Toney tallied a marker and 29-2-1 all-time against Pennsylvania teams. Currently, the Lions are on a 24 game unbeaten streak against Keystone State foes.
PENNSYLVANIA DOMINANCE: Since starting its program in 1994, Penn State has become the premier women's soccer program in Pennsylvania. All-time, the Nittany Lions are an impressive 28-2-1 against its Keystone foes, with the only team ever defetating PSU being Villanova. In fact, the Lions are riding a 13-year unbeaten streak since its last loss, a 2-1 defeat at `Nova in 1997. PSU is currently enduring a 22-0-1 stretch, which includes a 13-0-1 mark against Bucknell.
UP INVITE RUNDOWN: Penn State is coming off a tough weekend at the Nike Portland Invitational. The Nittany Lions had a comeback fall just short in a 2-1 loss to Washington at Merlo Field on Friday. Maya Hayes tallied a late goal and Christine Nairn's 90th minute blast narrowly missed from sending the game into overtime when it hit the crossbar. PSU returned to Merlo Field on Sunday to face No. 4 Portland. Hayes scored on the second shot of the game from Penn State off a Taylor Schram through ball to take the lead 40 minutes in. After a Portland penalty kick tied things up before halftime, Hayes once again gave the Pilots defense trouble, breaking free into the penalty area before being dragged down earning a spot kick for PSU. Nairn coolly put away the shot to give the Nittany Lions a 2-1 lead with 48 minutes gone and hopes of an upset well in reach. Unfortunately, Portland had too much firepower and scored three straight times from the 53rd to the 66th minute, improving to 8-0-0.
CONNECTICUT RECAP: PSU wrapped up its two-game Connecticut road swing in disappointing fashion when UConn's Jessica Shufelt scored the game-winner in overtime, capping PSU's third straight loss, 3-2, on Sunday, Sept. 5. The Nittany Lions received an early goal by Christine Nairn just 63 seconds into the contest, the second fastest Penn State goal in program history after Tiffany Weimer's 56-second goal vs. USC in 2006. UConn scored the next two before Hayley Brock notched her second of the year to send it to overtime. Krissy Tribbett made a career-high five saves in the contest. Two nights earlier, braving the elements of Hurricane Earl, the Nittany Lions dominated possession, offensive opportunities and the entire run of play, but couldn't slip a goal by Yale. The Bulldogs capitalized on a through ball and came away 1-0 victors on a dreary Friday night.
INVITATIONAL REDUX: The Nittany Lions hosted the fifth annual Penn State Invitational last weekend, going 0-1-1. Friday's game saw an exciting tilt between two top 15 teams in Penn State and Virginia as the Nittany Lions took a lead 54 minutes into the game on a Hayley Brock marker off a helper from Tani Costa. Virginia equalized in the 88th minute to send it to overtime where the game ended in a 1-1 draw. On Sunday, PSU took the lead for the third straight time in 2010 when Danielle Toney scored her second of the season, only to see it be equaled by William & Mary minutes later. A 74th minute free kick goal from 40 yards out saw the Tribe leave Jeffrey Field with the win.
| Penn State Women's Soccer Thanks its Fans! |
PACKING THE JEFF: Penn State and Virginia entertained 3,921 at Jeffrey Field, a new women's soccer single-game attendance record at the facility. A strong showing from the student section of Nittany Nation made their voices felt throughout the matches, lifting the Nittany Lions. The previous record was 3,208 set in Aug. 2006 in a match against UCLA, a 2-1 Penn State win. Last year, Penn State ranked ninth in the nation in average attendance (1,198) and tops in the Big Ten.
GOAL FOR 13,000: Penn State has put together an ambitious promotion plan into place to see 13,000 fans see a women's soccer game at Jeffrey Field. Last season, the Lions set a new single-season attendance record with 1,138 people per game. A total of 14,378 joined the NIttany Lions, second most in the team's history in raw numbers. The 14,711 in 2005 still stands as the most. 13,000 in nine games (1,444 per game) would break last year's single-season record.
EXORCISING THE MOUNTAINEERS:  West Virginia has had Penn State's number since 2007. No more. Penn State broke its four-game skid against the Mountaineers with a thrilling 2-1 overtime win over the 24th ranked WVU squad. A 22nd-minute goal by Danielle Toney was equalized by Bri Rodriguez in the 34th minute. The two teams went into overtime, mostly due to WVU goalkeeper Kerri Butler's outstanding play (nine saves). Tani Costa took a Hayley Brock delivery, cut back and slotted a left-footed shot home for the victory with 49 seconds left in the first OT period. It was Penn State's first overtime win since Oct. 2008, first win over WVU since Nov. 2005 and the first win in Morgantown since Oct. 2003. The goal was Costa's first in college play in her collegiate debut.
NEXT TIME OUT: Penn State hits the road next Sunday for a matchup with the Ohio State Buckeyes. The match will be shown live on Big Ten Network at 3:00 p.m. as PSU looks to win its second in a row against Ohio State.
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--NITTANY LIONS--