Oct. 24, 2017
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 11 Penn State women's soccer team (10-3-3, 6-1-3 B1G) heads to Madison, Wis., to close out the 2017 regular season against the Wisconsin Badgers (11-4-2, 5-3-2 B1G) on Wednesday, Oct. 25. The match is scheduled for an 8 p.m. (EDT) start at the McClimon Soccer Complex.
FOLLOW ALONG
The match will be streamed on BTN2Go.com, but fans must have a BTN Plus account to access the stream. Live stats will be available on GoPSUsports.com.
LOOKING AT WISCONSIN
Wisconsin enters the match against Penn State with an overall record of 11-4-2 and a Big Ten record of 5-3-2. The Badgers are coming off a 3-0 shutout victory at Iowa on Saturday, Oct. 21.
Prior to the start of the 2017 Big Ten season, Wisconsin tallied a 6-1-0 record during its non-conference slate.
Wisconsin's non-conference season featured a 5-0 loss to then-No. 2 Stanford on Aug. 20 and a 1-0 victory at then-No. 3 Virginia on Aug. 31.
Heading into the final match of the regular season, Wisconsin is currently No. 6 in the Big Ten standings with 17 points and has qualified for the 2017 Big Ten Tournament.
Offensively, Dani Rhodes, a 2016 Big Ten All-Freshman Team honoree, leads the team in goals (10), assists (four), and points (24). Rhodes has netted five game-winning goals on the year, including game-winners at then-No. 3 Virginia (Aug. 31) and vs. Minnesota (Sept. 16).
In net, Caitlyn Clem has played all but 36:43 on the season. On the year, she has posted eight shutouts, made 48 saves, has a save percentage of .762 and has a goals-against average of 0.87.
SERIES HISTORY VS. WISCONSIN
Wednesday's matchup marks the 29th meeting between the two programs with Penn State leading the series, 21-3-4.
Last year in Madison, Wis., Penn State topped Wisconsin, 1-0, on then-freshman Laura Suero's first career goal on Sept. 18.
LAST TIME OUT
Penn State closed out its 2017 regular season home slate with a 2-2 draw against the Purdue Boilermakers on Friday, Oct. 20. The Nittany Lions rallied back twice in the second half to tie the match and force the contest into overtime.
Offensively for the Blue & White, defender Elizabeth Ball netted her second goal of the season in the 64th minute, while Laura Freigang tied the contest at 2-2 at 86:14.
DECISION DAY 2017
With one match left in the Big Ten regular season, the top five teams in the standings are separated by six points. Ohio State currently leads the table with 24 points followed by Penn State (21) and Minnesota & Northwestern (19).
Following this past weekend's results, Ohio State has clinched a share of its second Big Ten title with Penn State needing two results to happen to clinch a share of the 2017 Big Ten title. To clinch a share of the title, Penn State needs to beat Wisconsin and Indiana must beat Ohio State.
The top eight teams will make the 2017 Big Ten Tournament with the top four teams hosting a quarterfinal match on Oct. 29 at campus sites.
THE POLLS
In the most recent polls, Penn State sits at No. 8 (Soccer America), No. 10 (TopDrawerSoccer), and No. 11 (United Soccer Coaches). The Nittany Lions are also No. 11 in the NCAA RPI.
PROLIFIC ATTACK
Since the start of the 2011 season, the Penn State women's soccer team has scored the second-most goals in the country (390). UVa leads the nation in goals scored during that stretch (444). (Stats courtesy of UVa Sports Info.)
COMING UP CLUTCH
Seniors Frannie Crouse and Megan Schafer have combined for 24 career game-winning goals.
Crouse's 13 game-winning goals rank 10th all-time at PSU, while Schafer's 11 game-winning goals are tied for 14th.
LATE-GAME HEROICS
On Sept. 17, Laura Freigang captured a 1-0 victory for the Nittany Lions in a double overtime thriller over Illinois. Freigang's goal with 42 seconds left in the second overtime session marked the latest goal in a game for Penn State since Nov. 7, 2010, when Ali Schaefer scored a goal with 17 seconds left in double overtime to lift the Nittany Lions to a 1-0 victory over Michigan.
Almost a month later, Freigang netted her second game-winning goal of the season, again in overtime, on Oct. 15. Against the Maryland Terrapins, Freigang captured a 1-0 victory for Penn State with her goal at 94:02.
Following Penn State's match at Maryland, Freigang scored her third goal of the season at 86:14 to force a 2-2 draw against Purdue on Oct. 20. Freigang has scored all three of her goals of the season after the 85th minute of play.
WELCOME BACK
The Nittany Lions return 22 letterwinners to the program for the 2017 season, including seven starters from the 2015 College Cup Final.
Of the 108 points tallied as a team last season, the Penn State offense returns 97 of those points. Offensively last season, Frannie Crouse paced the Nittany Lions with 27 points on a Big Ten-best 12 goals and she added three assists.
In addition to Crouse, Megan Schafer posted 17 points on six goals and five assists, while Charlotte Williams netted 16 points on six goals and four assists.
In net, Rose Chandler returns to the team after sitting out last season after joining the U.S. U-20 Women's National Team for the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.
Along with Chandler, Amanda Dennis is back for her sophomore season. As a true freshman last year, Dennis went 12-5-4, recorded seven solo shutouts, posted a goals against average of 0.92, and tallied 59 saves.
#PSU2021
The Penn State women's soccer class of 2021 is comprised of five members. Though it is a small class, it is a highly touted class; according to TopDrawerSoccer, the Nittany Lion freshman class is ranked No. 4 overall. Kerry Abello, Casey Ballow,
Shea Moyer, Frankie Tagliaferri, and Emma Thomson make up the Penn State freshman class this fall.
The quintet bring numerous accolades and experience with the U.S. Women's National Team youth program to the Nittany Lions.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Nittany Lions have posted an all-time record of 231-26-13 at Jeffrey Field, which includes a Big Ten Conference record of 106-6-6. Since the start of the 2011 season, Penn State has a record of 71-6-7 at Jeffrey Field.
Penn State kicked off its 2017 campaign with the fifth-best crowd in program history at Jeffrey Field.
Against No. 8 BYU on Aug. 18, 3,570 fans came out to witness the Nittany Lions capture a 3-1 victory.
Among the national leaders in attendance, Penn State ranks fifth in overall attendance (14,748) and fourth in average attendance (1,844).
PICKED TO DEFEND
Prior to the start of the 2017 season the Nittany Lions were picked to win the Big Ten regular season title.
Since the beginning of the coaches' preseason poll in 2003, the Nittany Lions have been picked to win the conference every season.
The 2016 season saw Minnesota, Northwestern, and Penn State all tie for the league title.
DEPENDABLE DEFENSIVE DUO
Seniors Elizabeth Ball and Brittany Basinger have been a mainstay on the Nittany Lion backline for the past few seasons.
Heading into the Wisconsin match, Ball ranks eighth all-time at PSU in minutes played (7,159), while Basinger is 15th (6,485).
FOR CLUB AND COUNTRY
The 2017 Penn State women's soccer roster is bolstered with numerous Nittany Lions with national team experience with their respective countries.
Last fall, six Nittany Lions competed at the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, as five Penn Staters represented the United States and Laura Freigang was a member of the German National Team. For the United States, Rose Chandler, Maddie Elliston, Ellie Jean, Emily Ogle, and Kaleigh Riehl donned the Red, White & Blue.
Along with the Penn State presence at the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, a handful of Nittany Lions have taken part in competitions/training camps for their respective national teams at different age levels since the start of the calendar year.
UP NEXT
Penn State will play again on Sunday, Oct. 29, in the Big Ten quarterfinal round. The opponent and location will be finalized Wednesday night.