Oct. 4, 2017
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 5 Penn State is on the road again as they take on conference foe Ohio State Friday at 3 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network followed by a neutral site matchup against California Saturday at 12 p.m. ET in Columbus, Ohio.
OHIO STATE SERIES HISTORY
Penn State leads 36-11-2 all-time in their series with the Buckeyes dating back to 1977. Penn State is currently on a one-game winning-streak vs. Ohio State, downing OSU 2-0 last year to pick up its 11th win of the season last October.
SCOUTING OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes sit at 6-5 on the year currently riding a two-game win streak that includes a win over No. 11 Stanford this past Friday.
Maddy Humphrey leads the Buckeyes in goals (6) as well as contributing three assists and converting on a penalty stroke in 2017.
Maartje Bongers has recorded six assists this season that leads the team is double the next closest for Ohio State.
CALIFORNIA SERIES HISTORY
Penn State is 4-1 all-time in their series with the Golden Bears dating back to 1980.Penn State dropped the last meeting vs. California 3-2 on Sept. 11, 2015.
SCOUTING CALIFORNIA
The Golden Bears are currently on a six-game winning streak that has seen California outscore their opponents 23-7 and includes wins over Bryant, Northeastern, Pacific, Fairfield, Quinnipiac, and UC-Davis.
Megan Rodgers leads California in goals with 12 on the year that and is currently ranked T-No. 4 nationally and averages 1.20 goals per game that is fifth-best in the NCAA.
Femke Delissen has posted six assists in 2017 tha leads the team.
ACTIVE CAREER LEADERS
A few Nittany Lions are among the best in the nation in their respective categories among active student-athletes, as well as a few that are rising in the Penn State record book.
- Third-most total assist among active athletes (38), tied for second-most assists per game (0.69)
- Ranked No. 10 in PSU history in total assists
- Averages the sixth-most points per game among active athletes (2.11)
- T-16th-most assists among active athletes (23)
- Holds the ninth-best GAA among active athletes (1.54)
WHAT A PERFORMANCE BY BRAMLEY!
What a week it was for Gini Bramley. The junior midfielder earned Big Ten Offensive player of the week honors as well as being named the National Offensive player of the week by NFHCA. Bramley joins Jen Beaumont (10/28/08), Allison Scola (10/14/08) and Jen Long (11/13/07) as the only other Nittany Lions to earn National Player of the Week honors. On top of the fantastic week (Aug. 25-27) on the field for the Elizabethtown, Pa. native, Bramley celebrated her birthday the same weekend, turning 20-years-old on Aug. 28.
BIG TEN ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Through six weeks of play, three Nittany Lions have been selected as Big Ten Player of the Week, respectively. Gini Bramley earned the distinction during the opening week of play, Jenny Rizzo earned the nod following shutouts against Temple and Wake Forest, while Cori Conley took home the honors following wins against Michigan State and Kent State on the road.
Offensive Player of the Week (8/28/17)
Gini Bramley, Penn State
M - Jr. - Elizabethtown, Pa. - Lower Dauphin
- Guided No. 7 Penn State to victories over No. 23 Old Dominion and No. 10 Virginia
- Scored two goals and added one assist against Old Dominion
- Scored two goals and tallied two assists in Penn State's, 4-2, win over Virginia
Defensive Player of the Week (9/5/17)
Jenny Rizzo, Penn State
GK - Jr. - Hershey, Pa. - Hershey
- Anchored a Penn State defense that defeated Temple, 5-0, and No. 15 Wake Forest, 6-0
- Posted two shutouts in Penn State's home opening weekend
- Recorded a season-high nine saves
- Earns her second Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honor and her first of the season
- Last Penn State Defensive Player of the Week: Jenny Rizzo (Oct. 4, 2016)
Defensive Player of the Week (10/2/17)
Cori Conley, Penn State
B - Jr. - Oak Park, Ill. - Oak Park and River Forest
- Played every minute on the pitch as Penn State posted two road wins this week, earning PSU its 10th win of the season
- Anchored the Nittany Lion defense that shutout Michigan State in East Lansing earning Penn State's its fifth shutout of the season
- Scored her first career goal versus Kent State
- Earns her first Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honor
- Last Penn State Defensive Player of the Week: Jenny Rizzo (Sept. 5, 2017)
PENN STATE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Penn State ( checked in at the No. 5 spot in the latest National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) poll, as released Tuesday morning.
UConn notched two more shutout wins last week as they ran their record to 11-0 on the season. The Huskies accumulated 1,222 points and 46 first-place votes to once again run away with the No. 1 ranking in the poll.
The rest of the top five includes two teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference in No. 2 Duke and No. 3 Virginia and a pair from the Big Ten Conference in No. 4 Michigan and No. 5 Penn State.
The bottom half of the top ten consists of No. 6 North Carolina, No. 7 Delaware, No. 8 Boston College, No. 9 Syracuse and No. 10 Northwestern.
CHEERING ON THE BLUE & WHITE
Penn State finished the 2016 season ranked No. 1 in average attendance in the nation. Penn State broke the Field Hockey Complex record with a total of 967 in attendance for a conference game against Maryland and was a part of the most attended game during the 2016 season as the Nittany Lions captured the Big Ten Tournament title against the very same Terrapins in College Park that was played in front of 969 fans.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT ON BTN
Penn State will play on BTN live Sunday, Oct. 15 starting at 3:00 p.m. as the Nittany Lions take on Maryland in College Park, Md. The crucial contest will be the Nittany Lion's third to last before the Big Ten tournament and is a rematch of last year's Big Ten Tournament Championship game that saw Penn State win its conference record seventh Big Ten tournament title. Penn State's game at Ohio State (Oct. 6) will also be streamed on BTN.
LEADERS OF THE PACK
Seniors Shay Cannon (16) and Skyler Fretz (11) were named the captains for the 2017 season.
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