UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 14 Penn State women's soccer team (15-5-1) hosts the Bowling Green Falcons (14-4-3) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, Nov. 9. The match is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start at Jeffrey Field.
FOLLOW ALONG
The match will be aired on BTN2Go.com for free. Fans can also follow along with live stats on GoPSUsports.com.
ATTENDING JEFFREY FIELD
Unlike regular season matches, Friday's match will be ticketed. Ticket prices for Friday's match are: $8 for adults, $5 for youth and students of participating schools and $3 for groups of 20 or more. Ticket sales at Jeffrey Field are cash only. Fans can also buy tickets at the Bryce Jordan Center on Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. Due to weather, there will be no parking on the grass lots.
LOOKING AT BOWLING GREEN
The Bowling Green Falcons clinched their NCAA Tournament berth by defeating Ball State, 5-4, in penalty kicks after playing to a 1-1 tie. On the year, Bowling Green is 14-4-3 overall and 10-1-0 in Mid-American Conference play.
The Nittany Lions and Falcons have one common opponent in Northwestern. The Falcons dropped a 2-0 contest to then-No.15 Northwestern on Sept. 9.
Erica Hubert, the 2018 MAC Offensive Player of the Year, has tallied 34 points on 12 goals and 10 assists. Along with Hubert, three other Falcons have recorded at least 18 points on the year.
In net, Kathleen Duwve, an All-MAC First Team member, has started all 21 matches. In 2018, Duwve has made 78 saves, allowed 13 goals, has a goals-against average of 0.63, a save percentage of .857, and has posted six solo shutouts.
PENN STATE VS. BOWLING GREEN
Friday's match marks the first meeting between the two programs.
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 48 points.
Prior to the Bowling Green match, Abello has 19 points, Schnurr has 17 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 108-3-5 since the start of the 2012 season.
SECOND HALF TEAM
Halftime adjustments have paid dividends for the Nittany Lions in 2018.
Offensively, Penn State has scored 24 goals in the second half of regulation compared to 12 goals in the first half. Additionally, Penn State has recorded 162 shots in the final 45 minutes of regulation compared to 156 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.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The 2018 NCAA Tournament marks the 24th consecutive appearance for the Nittany Lions. Overall, Penn State owns a record of 50-21-2 in the NCAA Tournament.
Heading into 2018, Penn State has advanced to the quarterfinals in three of the past four seasons (2014, '15 & '17).
PROTECTING THE NET
Since the start of the 2014 season, Penn State goalkeepers have combined for 58 shutouts.
TOP OFFENSE
The Nittany Lions boast one of the top offenses in the nation over the past few seasons.
Heading into the Bowling Green match, Penn State has scored 443 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 501 followed by Stanford with 461 (Stats courtesy of the Virginia Sports Information Office).
CLOSE CONTESTS
Penn State has played 13 one-goal games in 2018. The Nittany Lions have gone 8-5 in those matches, which includes a pair of 2-1 overtime wins.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Nittany Lions boast an all-time record of 241-29-13 at Jeffrey Field and in Big Ten conference matches, Penn State is 111-7-6.
Since the start of the 2011 season, Penn State owns a record of 81-9-7 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 winner of Penn State/Bowling Green will play the winner of third-seeded South Carolina/UNC Greensboro on Friday, Nov. 16. The time and location will be announced at a later date.