UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 21 Penn State women's soccer team (12-5-0, 8-2-0 Big Ten) hosts Minnesota (9-7-1, 5-4-1 Big Ten) in its regular season finale on Sunday, Oct. 21. The match is slated for a 1 p.m. start at Jeffrey Field. Prior to the match, Penn State will honor its five-member senior class.
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can watch the match on BTN2Go.com, but must have an account to access the feed. Live stats can be found on GoPSUsports.com.
ATTENDING JEFFREY FIELD
Admission and parking for women's soccer regular season events are free. Fans are reminded that there is a no bag policy in place on stadium grounds.
SENIOR DAY/BOOSTER CLUB SOCIAL
Fans are asked to arrive early as the senior day ceremony will begin at 12:45 p.m. Following the match, there will be a social for members of the Penn State women's soccer booster club on Little Jeffrey.
LOOKING AT MINNESOTA
Minnesota enters the match against Penn State with an overall record of 9-7-1 and a Big Ten record of 5-4-1. Heading into Sunday, Minnesota is fifth in the Big Ten standings with 16 points.
The Golden Gophers are coming off a 3-1 win over Iowa on Thursday, Oct. 18. In the contest, April Bockin recorded two goals and an assist, while Nikki Albrecht chipped in two assists.
Offensively for Minnesota, Bockin leads the team in points (25), goals (10), and shots (58). Along with Bockin, Molly Fiedler has tallied 12 points on three goals and six assists.
In net for the Maroon & Gold, Maddie Nielsen has played all but 31:07 on the year. In 2018, she has recorded 52 saves, allowed 19 goals, has a goals-against average of 1.09, a save percentage of .732, and has posted five solo shutouts.
PENN STATE VS. MINNESOTA
Sunday's match marks the 28th meeting between the two teams with Penn State leading the all-time series, 21-5-1.
BREAKOUT SEASONS
Heading into the 2018 season, the trio of Kerry Abello, Shea Moyer, and Kristin Schnurr had a combined one point. In 2018, the trio have tallied 44 points.
Prior to the Minnesota match, Schnurr has 17 points, Abello has 15 points, and Moyer has 12 points.
STRIKE FIRST
Penn State has been very successful when scoring the first goal over the past few seasons. When scoring first, Penn State is 105-3-5 since the start of the 2012 season.
B1G TITLE No. 19
With Penn State's 4-1 win at Indiana on Oct. 18, the Nittany Lions clinched at least a share of their 19th Big Ten regular season title.
BIG TEN STANDINGS
With only one match left in the 2018 Big Ten regular season for the Nittany Lions, Penn State leads the league with 24 points. Penn State has clinched at least a share of the 2018 Big Ten regular season title.
Rutgers and Wisconsin are tied for second in the league with 21 points apiece.
SECOND HALF TEAM
Halftime adjustments have paid dividends for the Nittany Lions in 2018.
Offensively, Penn State has scored 21 goals in the second half of regulation compared to 11 goals in the first half.
Additionally, Penn State has recorded 135 shots in the final 45 minutes of regulation compared to 125 shots in the first 45 minutes.
Defensively, Penn State has allowed 10 goals during the first half of play, while it has allowed only one goal in the second half of regulation.
PROTECTING THE NET
Since the start of the 2014 season, Penn State goalkeepers have combined for 54 shutouts.
TOP OFFENSE
The Nittany Lions boast one of the top offenses in the nation over the past few seasons.
Heading into the Minnesota match, Penn State has scored 439 goals since the start of the 2011 season, which ranks third in the nation.
Virginia leads the nation in goals scored since the start of 2011 with 496 followed by Stanford with 445 (Stats courtesy of the Virginia Sports Information Office).
CLOSE CONTESTS
Penn State has played 11 one-goal games in 2018. The Nittany Lions have gone 6-5 in those matches, which includes a pair of 2-1 overtime wins.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Nittany Lions boast an all-time record of 239-29-13 at Jeffrey Field and in Big Ten conference matches, Penn State is 110-7-6.
Since the start of the 2011 season, Penn State owns a record of 79-9-7 at Jeffrey Field.
Penn State opened the 2018 season with 3,126 fans against then-No. 9 West Virginia, which is the No. 8 crowd in program history at Jeffrey Field.
UP NEXT
The 2018 Big Ten Tournament gets underway on campus sites on Sunday, Oct. 28.