Nov. 6, 2010
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Sunday will have a celebratory feel to it on Sunday as the Nittany Lions host Michigan at 1:00 p.m. on Big Ten Network for Senior Day and Pink Day. Fans are encouraged to arrive early for the Senior Day ceremony and wear pink. Shirts and other items will be on sale and auction for fans to purchase and bid on to raise funds for breast cancer awareness.
Penn State's (9-8-1, 7-2-0 Big Ten) final home game of the year also has great implications on the remainder of its season. A win gives the Nittany Lions a share of their 13th straight Big Ten title, while also boosting its NCAA Tournament hopes. Michigan (10-3-4, 5-2-2 Big Ten) comes in riding high after a sweep of Iowa and Illinois last week, also looking to bolster its NCAA tourney opportunity.
The complete game notes can be found HERE.
GAME NOTES
SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES: Michigan is having a revival in women's soccer as U-M is 10-3-4 this season with a 5-2-2 mark in Big Ten play. The Wolverines are on the cusp of their first NCAA Tournament berth thanks to their one-goal game success (8-1-4). Additionally, Michigan has had great second-half play, out-scoring opponents 19-8 in the frame. Michigan is coming off a 3-2 win at home on Senior Day over No. 16 Illinois, which was the fifth win in six games for Michigan. Nkem Ezurike leads the scoring attack with nine goals this season, while Clare Stachel and Amanda Bowery each have 10 points. Hayley Kopmeyer is 10-3-4 with four solo shutouts and a 0.85 goals-against average.
SERIES HISTORY: Penn State is 15-3-5 all-time against Michigan while currently riding a nine-game unbeaten, five game winning streak. Last year, Penn State out-right clinched its 12th straight Big Ten title on U-M's field with a 2-0 score line. PSU out-shot Michigan 26-3, with none of the U-M shots reaching net. Katie Schoepfer and Jackie Molinda scored for Penn State. On Jeffrey Field, Penn State is 8-0-1 having won the last seven games in a row dating back to 1998 vs. Michigan. The Nittany Lions have out-scored the Wolverines 46-23 in the series.
WHAT'S AT STAKE: Thanks to Penn State's rout of Purdue and Indiana's shock win over Ohio State on Sunday, the Nittany Lions moved into a tie for first in the Big Ten with the Buckeyes, if only momentarily at 7-2-0 (21 points). Wisconsin won its final Big Ten match of the season on Monday, 3-0 over Northwestern, to take the top spot at 7-1-2 (23 points). On Friday, Ohio State defeated Michigan State, 1-0, to take sole possession of first place in the Big Ten, guaranteeing at least a share of the Big Ten title and the Conference's NCAA automatic bid. A Penn State win guarantees at least a share of its 13th straight championship.
PSU win: Both teams share the title, OSU receives NCAA automatic bid
PSU tie/loss: OSU wins the title and NCAA automatic bid, PSU finishes third
CORNER KICKSKnopp: Monroig's Soccer Journey at Jeffrey Field Culminates Sunday Read MoreInserra: Toney Reflects on Four Years of PSU Soccer, Looks Toward Future Read MoreGill: Senior Day Preview vs. Michigan Read More |
SENIOR DAY: Sunday will be the final game at Jeffrey Field for seniors Megan Monroig and Danielle Toney. Pre-game ceremonies will begin at 12:45 p.m. and the game will be shown live on the Big Ten Network.
PINK DAY: Penn State's Pink Day celebration will take place Sunday as well. T-shirts, signed jerseys and soccer balls as well as other great items will be up for sale and auction. All proceeds will benefit the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) PinkZone at Penn State for Lady Lion Basketball. The Nittany Lion women's soccer team will donate their proceeds as part of the PinkZone event to be celebrated on Feb. 27 vs. Northwestern at the Bryce Jordan Center.
BOILING PURDUE: Penn State got off to a slow start on a breezy Sunday afternoon, conceding a first-minute goal to Purdue before scoring six unanswered in a 6-1 win at the Varsity Soccer Complex. Tani Costa scored twice, while Danielle Toney, Christine Nairn, Maya Hayes and Hayley Brock pitched in with a goal each. Nairn and Toney added assists for their respective three-point days, while Ali Schaefer and Megan Monroig added assists. Krissy Tribbett made two saves, holding the Boilermakers scoreless for the final 88:39.
COSTA'S AWARDS HAUL: Penn State women's soccer forward Tani Costa was named the Big Ten's Offensive Player and Freshman of the Week on Monday, Nov. 1. Additionally, Costa garnered TopDrawerSoccer.com's Player of the Week honor. The redshirt-freshman put five goals in the net last week in two games against Indiana and Purdue.
MAKING A RUN, MAKING A CASE: Penn State has had an incredible finish to its season rallying for a 9-8-1 record after a 2-6-1 start. PSU has won seven of its last nine games, while out-scoring teams 24-8 in Big Ten play over that span. The Nittany Lions have made a jump in the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), darting up the charts from 131st to 51st. Penn State is 3-5-1 against Top 50 opponents from the RPI and Michigan is 33rd, a prime candidate for a good win. A win on Sunday would inch them even closer, and possible sew up, an NCAA bid.
R(P)ISING UP: The Nittany Lions have shot up the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), the main criteria used by the tournament selection committee for ranking, seeding and inviting at-large bids. The first RPI report came out on Oct. 4 and pegged Penn State at 131st. After a 48-place rise in the rankings to 83rd on Oct. 11, the Lions gained nine more places on Oct. 18 to 74th. Last week week, PSU jumped to 57th, 17 places better and within striking distance of an at-large bid should Penn State not win the Big Ten's automatic entry. This week the Lions are at 51st and a win over Michigan (33rd) would bolster the chances once again. Ohio State tops the Big Ten at 13th, while the highest ranked teams PSU has faced are Portland (2nd) and Virginia (4th). The highest foe the Lions have beaten is West Virginia (15th).
INDIANA DEMOLITION: Penn State put together an impressive performance on Thursday, Oct. 28 as the Nittany Lions trounced Indiana, 6-1 at Jeffrey Field. Tani Costa led the way with three goals, while Danielle Toney posted a three-point day with her goal and an assist. Christine Nairn and Hayley Brock each chipped in goals and Megan Monroig added an assist for Penn State. Costa opened the scoring in the eighth minute on a penalty kick, her first collegiate PK. Four minutes later, Nairn added to the tally before Brock made it 3-0 prior to half time. Costa pounced on a goalie miscue to make it 4-0 two minutes into the second half before rounding out the hat trick off a Toney feed in the 52nd minute. Toney capitalized on another goalkeeper error to cap the scoring late. Krissy Tribbett made four saves in PSU's largest win ever over the Hoosiers.
HAT TRICK HERO HISTORY: Tani Costa's hat trick was the 19th in Penn State history. Previously Katie Schoepfer tallied the last two in 2009 (Oct. 25 vs. Illinois, Nov. 13 vs. Colgate). All-time great Christie Welsh holds the PSU record for most hat tricks at eight, which included two four-goal efforts. Tiffany Weimer is in second with four hat tricks, while Schoepfer is third with two. Costa joins Bonnie Young, Kelly Convey, Courtney Lawson and Heidi Drummond on the all-time list. Lawson and Welsh are the only Nittany Lions to post four goals in a game.
ILLINI DOMINATION: Penn State handled No. 13 Illinois, 2-0, at warm and windy Illinois Track & Soccer Complex on Sunday, Oct. 24. Danielle Toney notched her fifth tally of the year before a Hayley Brock goal completed the scoring. In the most dominant half yet of the 2010 season, Penn State (7-8-1, 5-2-0 Big Ten) overcame a sluggish opening five minutes before connecting on 20 consecutive shots at Illinois' (11-3-1, 4-2-1 Big Ten) net. The flurry of shots continued as Toney scored her fifth of the year when a Jess Rosenbluth through ball found its mark and Toney slotted the ball into the lower right corner of the net in the 20th minute for a 1-0 lead. Tani Costa also provided an assist from a Carly Niness long ball on Toney's goal. Penn State kept pressuring the Illini net and another pass from Rosenbluth combined with the crafty footwork and speed of Brock allowed her to move into the penalty area on the right wind and send home a far post goal from 15 yards out for a 2-0 lead in the 27th minute. That was all the scoring needed as Illinois failed to register a shot on goal until the 81st minute, forcing Krissy Tribbett into two saves, earning the shutout.
TWO MORE BIG TEN SHOUTOUTS:  Junior co-captain Emma Thomson and freshman striker Hayley Brock each earned Big Ten weekly awards on Monday, Oct. 25. The award is Thomson's second weekly honor after bagging the same award in 2009 vs. Michigan. It's Brock's first ever Big Ten award. See Brock's video on the Penn State women's soccer player blog.
UPSET CITY:  Penn State's storied women's soccer history quite notable achievements and wins. A total of 24 wins have come over teams ranked higher than PSU, including a 3-2 thriller at No. 1 North Carolina's Fetzer Field in 1999. Amazingly, 10 of the 24 upset victories have come on the opponent's home field. In the span of 10 days, the Nittany Lions knocked off two top 15 squads, Minnesota (15th) and Illinois (13th). The win over Illinois was the highest ranked opponent Penn State has defeated while itself being unranked. Preivously, the Minnesota win and last year's 2-1 win over Ohio State was the record high.
WISCONSIN LETDOWN: Coming off an exciting 2-1 comeback win over then-No. 15 Minnesota, Penn State faced another crucial game against Wisconsin, but fell 3-2 on Sunday, Oct. 17. Penn State fell behind 2-0 after 32 minutes. The Lions started to turn the offense around, cutting the lead in half when Tani Costa sent a half volley home off a Megan Monroig cross in the 38th minute. Penn State controlled most of the second half, out-shooting the Badgers 14-3, and finally equalized the game in the 78th minute when Maya Hayes broke free on the right wing for her fourth goal of the year. Just 44 seconds later, Kodee Williams ran behind the PSU defense and slotted home the game winner and giving Wisconsin its second-ever win against the Lions, the first since 1995.
MINNESOTA UPSET: The Nittany Lions were faced with the biggest game of the season and dominated then-No. 15 Minnesota on the stat sheet, but not on the scoreboard during a Friday, Oct. 15 match. In a game where Penn State held the Big Ten's most explosive offense to just two shots all game, ultimately out-shooting the Gophers 13-2, the Lions had to come back from a 1-0 deficit. Taylor Schram headed home the game-tying goal in the 73rd minute off a cross from Danielle Toney before Maddy Evans's header won the game in the 76th minute off a Christine Nairn corner kick. The win over the 15th-ranked Golden Gophers tied the highest upset by an unranked Penn State squad after PSU's 2-1 win over then-No. 15 Ohio State in 2009 at Jeffrey Field.
IOWA DOMINATION CONTINUES: Penn State received offense from some unexpected places as the Lions rolled to a 3-0 win at Iowa on Sunday, Oct. 10. Julie Hubbard and Tani Costa each tallied three points on a goal and an assist, while Bri Garcia's 26th header began the rout. Garcia's goal was assisted by Christine Nairn, her fifth point of the weekend. PSU out-shot the Hawkeyes, 25-9, while Krissy Tribbett made five saves in a combined shutout with Kristin Hartmann. Penn State moved to 16-0-0 all-time against Iowa with the win.
LAKESIDE TRIUMPH:  Two nights earlier, Christine Nairn starred on Friday, Oct. 8 as she keyed a comeback for Penn State with two goals in a 2-1 win at Northwestern on Lakeside Field. Penn State gave up a 12th minute goal, but allowed only two shots the rest of the night as PSU won its 14th in a row over NU. Nairn equalized the match on a spot kick after a Northwestern handball in the penalty area in the 30th minute. In the 67th, Hayley Brock lofted a cross from the right wing and Nairn headed home the game-winner, completing PSU's first comeback victory since a 3-2 win against UConn (8/31/08), which also saw a Nairn header win it.
BIG TEN WEEKLY HONORS:  The Big Ten Conference recognized the outstanding play of two Nittany Lions, Krissy Tribbett and Tani Costa, on Monday, Oct. 11. Tribbett was named the league's Defensive Player of the Week after posting a 0.51 goals-against average for two games and making six saves at Northwestern and Iowa with one shutout. Costa contributed a goal and an assist against Iowa while making one start in two appearances. The two awards are the first for each student-athlete.
BIG TEN OPENING WIN: Penn State earned its first shutout of the season in a tense 1-0 win over Michigan State on Sunday, Sept. 26 at Jeffrey Field. Christine Nairn converted a penalty kick in the 20th minute for the deciding goal. Maya Hayes took a pass down the left wing and was brought down by MSU's Annie Steinlege, drawing the penalty kick. The spirited opening conference match saw 27 fouls combined from each team including four bookings. In the end, Krissy Tribbett's two saves in the final 90 seconds sewed up the victory for PSU who won their 17th straight Big Ten home opener (17-0-0) and upped their unbeaten streak against Big Ten competition to 10 (9-0-1).
OSU HEARTBREAK: Penn State suffered a tough 1-0 overtime loss at Ohio State on Sunday, Oct. 3. A defensive miscue allowed OSU's Paige Maxwell to give the Buckeyes the win. After a tough 90 minutes of scoreless play goalkeeper Krissy Tribbett misplayed a passback. Maxwell gathered the mistake and put the shot from eight yards out to the left post and give the Buckeyes the win.
BIG TEN OPENING WIN: Penn State earned its first shutout of the season in a tense 1-0 win over Michigan State on Sunday, Sept. 26 at Jeffrey Field. Christine Nairn converted a penalty kick in the 20th minute for the deciding goal. Maya Hayes took a pass down the left wing and was brought down by MSU's Annie Steinlege, drawing the penalty kick. The spirited opening conference match saw 27 fouls combined from each team including four bookings. In the end, Krissy Tribbett's two saves in the final 90 seconds sewed up the victory for PSU who won their 17th straight Big Ten home opener (17-0-0) and upped their unbeaten streak against Big Ten competition to 10 (9-0-1).
BUCKNELL BREAKOUT: Penn State snapped its five-game skid in emphatic fashion with a 5-1 thrashing of Bucknell on Wednesday, Sept. 15 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.
INVITATIONAL REDUX: The Nittany Lions hosted the fifth annual Penn State Invitational Aug. 29-31, 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: Depending on a number of factors, not the least of which include Sunday's result, Penn State may play in the NCAA Tournament. The selection show will be aired on ESPNU at 3:30 p.m. If the Nittany Lions are selected, they will most likely play on Friday afternoon/evening on the road.
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