| After winning its eighth-straight Big Ten regular season title, No. 1 Penn State (19-0, 10-0 Big Ten) will try to capture the second jewel of the triple crown when it competes at the Big Ten Tournament in Ann Arbor, Mich., this week. |
2005 Big Ten Champion Lions in the Hunt for Fourth Big Ten Tournament Title... After winning its eighth-straight Big Ten regular season title, No. 1 Penn State (19-0, 10-0 Big Ten) will try to capture the second jewel of the triple crown when it competes at the Big Ten Tournament in Ann Arbor, Mich., this week. No. 1 seed Penn State meets No. 8 seed and host Michigan (7-8-3, 3-6-1 Big Ten) on Thurs., Nov. 4, at 7:30 p.m. in opening round action. If Penn State advances they would meet the winner of the No. 4 seed Illinois vs. No. 5 seed Minnesota game at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 4. The championship game, which will be televised live on College Sports Television (CSTV) on Sunday, Nov. 6, will kick-off at noon. Penn State has won three Big Ten Tournament titles in program history in 1998, 2000, and 2001.
On The Horizon... Once the Big Ten Tournament concludes, the top-ranked Lions will wait patiently for their fate to be announced on the NCAA selection show. The show will be held on Monday, Nov. 7, at 4:00 p.m. The field will be announced live on ESPNews at that time.
The Big Ten Regular Season in Brief... The No. 3 Penn State Nittany Lions completed their fourth undefeated Big Ten season in 12 years when they outlasted Minnesota in double overtime, 1-0, on a golden goal from Ali Krieger on Oct. 28 in Minneapolis. Penn Satte also went undefeated in the Big Ten last season, in 2000 and had only one tie in 1999. Penn State clinched its eighth-straight Big Ten regular season title with its 10-0 campaign this year.
The Lions in the Big Ten Tournament... No. 1 seed Penn State enters the 2005 Big Ten Tournament with an 15-6-2 record and three Big Ten Tournament championships all-time. Last year, the Lions made it to the Big Ten Tournament final before falling to host Ohio State, 2-0, to break a 19-game unbeaten streak. The past two years, Penn State has lost to the Tournament??s host team, Wisconsin in 2000 in a quarterfinal shoot-out and Ohio State last year in the championship game. Penn State??s three championships came in 1998, 2000, and 2001.
The Series with Michigan... Penn State has an all-time record of 10-3-4 against the Wolverines after a 4-2 victory this year on Oct. 21. The Nittany Lions put a three-game win-streak in the series on the line vs. the Wolverines this weekend with the last two wins coming at U-M Soccer Field, a 4-2 victory earlier this year and a 1-0 win last year. In 2003, the Lions sent Michigan home with a 2-0 defeat at Jeffrey Field to start the Lions?? winning ways. The last time Penn State lost to the Wolverines was on Oct. 4, 2002, when then-No. 13 Michigan shut the Lions out, 4-0, at U-M Soccer Field.
Eighth-Straight Championship Comes Home to Happy Valley... The No. 1 Penn State women??s soccer team won its eighth-straight Big Ten championship when it beat Michigan State on Oct. 23. In addition to the women??s team??s unprecedented streak, Penn State can also celebrate the success of this year??s men??s soccer team, which clinched its first regular season Big Ten championship ever the same day on the same field. It is the first time in Big Ten history that the same school has won both regular season titles. No. 1 a First for the Lions... After being ranked No. 1 for the first time ever on Oct. 18, Penn State is currently enjoying its third week in the top-spot.
Perfect!... With No. 1 Penn State??s 5-0 win over Navy last Sunday, the Nittany Lions finished their first perfect regular season in program history. With a 19-0 mark, Penn State went undefeated and untied en route to its eighth-straight Big Ten Championship.
All This After Only 12 Years... Penn State's program, only 12 years old, is enjoying great success again this season with its 19-0 record and 10-0 conference mark. The Lions are the only undefeated, untied Division I team in the nation at this point. At the top of the conference pack, Penn State captured its eighth-straight Big Ten regular season title this year. Additionally, Penn State is the only school that has had the winner or runner-up for the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy every year since 2000, marking five straight years a Nittany Lion has been either collegiate player of the year or runner-up for collegiate player of the year.
Player of the Year Candidate Weimer Grabs Share of Chastain??s Former NCAA Mark... When top player of the year candidates Nittany Lion Tiffany Weimer and Portland Pilot Christine Sinclair began their back-and-forth for the NCAA??s consecutive games with at least one goal record, they were both chasing Brandi Chastain??s 15-year old mark. On Oct. 14, both strikers tied the mark at 15?Cstraight games. The following Sunday, an off-day for Weimer, Sinclair pulled one game ahead. From then on, East Coast power Weimer was tying West Coaster Sinclair only to have the Pilot??s striker pull one game ahead in the streak several hours later. Women??s soccer fans across the nation waited to see who would blink first.
In the No. 1 Lion??s 3-0 victory to grab their eighth-straight Big Ten championship on Sunday, Oct. 23, Weimer scored her 83rd career goal to set a new Big Ten record in that category. She also extended her streak to 17-straight matches each with at least one goal, tying Sinclair. Hours later on the West Coast, Sinclair??s streak stopped at 17 straight games when she was held goal-less in No. 2 Portland??s 5-0 win over San Diego. After Weimer was held scoreless at Minnesota that next Friday, the duo ended the battle each holding a share of the NCAA record for consecutive games with at least one goal each.
Weimer Breaks Welsh's Big Ten Goal Scoring Record... Senior Tiffany Weimer tallied the 83rd goal of her career vs. Michigan State on Oct. 23, breaking the Big Ten record for career goals scored, previously held by Christie Welsh. After another goal vs. Navy, Weimer now has 84 career goals.
Despite Weimer resetting the record for career goals in the conference, Welsh still has a firm hold on the title of the Big Ten??s all-time leading scorer. The 2001 Hermann Trophy winner, Welsh scored 216 career points and leads Weimer by 16 points heading into the Big Ten Tournament this week.
Big Ten Career Goals * 1. 84 Tiffany Weimer 91 games 2002-pres. 2. 82 Christie Welsh 97 games 1999-02 3. 58 Rachel Hoffman 87 games 1994-97 4. 56 Heidi Drummond 98 games 2000-03
Penn State Career Assists 1. 52 Christie Welsh 97 games 1999-02 2. 37 Joanna Lohman 101 games 2000-03 3. 31 Rachel Hoffman 87 games 1994-97 4. 29 Tiffany Weimer 91 games 2002-pres. 29 Stephanie Smith 101 games 2000-03
Big Ten Career Points * 1. 216 Christie Welsh 97 games 1999-02 2. 197 Tiffany Weimer 91 games 2002-pres. 3. 147 Rachel Hoffman 87 games 1994-97 4. 138 Heidi Drummond 98 games 2000-03
Penn State Career Game-Winning Goals 1. 27 Christie Welsh 97 games 1999-02 2. 23 Tiffany Weimer 91 games 2002-pres. 3. 19 Heidi Drummond 98 games 2000-03 4. 18 Rachel Hoffman 87 games 1994-97
Penn State Career Shots 1. 431 Christie Welsh 73 games 1999-02 2. 347 Joanna Lohman 101 games 2000-03 3. 332 Tiffany Weimer 91 games 2002-pres. 4. 317 Rachel Hoffman 87 games 1994-97 *All of the Big Ten's leaders in this category are Nittany Lions
Weimer Gunning for Another of Welsh??s Records... After leading the NCAA in goals last season with 26, senior forward Tiffany Weimer is on pace to surpass that total this year while making a run at many of Christie Welsh??s Penn State and Big Ten scoring records. Weimer stands two goals away fron tying Welsh??s Big Ten record for goals in a season, 27, which dates back to 1999. After missing by just one goal last year, Weimer has the record in her sights again this season. Currently, she is also tied with Welsh for the record for gamewinners in a season (9).
Through 19 games, Weimer is scoring at a feverish pace amassing 52 points off 25 goals and two assists. The runner-up for last year??s M.A.C. Hermann Trophy, Weimer has accounted for almost half of the Lions?? 19 gamewinners this year. All told last season, the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year netted six game-winning goals. This year she has nine.
Weimer By The Numbers... After scoring or assisting on 67% of the Lions?? goals last year, senior striker Tiffany Weimer is continuing to carry the offensive load this year. Weimer has 25 of the Lions?? 58 goals and has added two assists, putting her in on over 47% of the Lions?? 2005 offensive conversions this year. The Connecticut-native has netted her 25 goals on 75 shots, a .333 shooting percentage.
Lions Own No. 6 Scoring Offense in the Country... No. 1 Penn State is averaging 3.05 goals per game thus far in 2005, which is ranked sixth overall by the NCAA in scoring offense. No. 5 Notre Dame leads the country with a 4.58 goals per game average.
Wilkins Three Wins from 100 in Less then Five Years... In her fifth season as a head coach, Harrisburg-area native Paula Wilkins has accomplished a tremendous amount already in her young career. A 1994 Massachusetts grad, Wilkins began her coaching career as an assistant to Pat Farmer when the Penn State program began that fall. In 2001, she assumed the head coaching position upon Farmer's departure for the WUSA and has compiled a 97-14-6 (.855) career record. In 2002, she became the first woman to both play and coach in the College Cup after leading the Lions to the national semifinals for the first of two times thus far in her career. Wilkins' teams have won five straight Big Ten regular season titles to add to their previous three under Farmer equaling an unprecedented eight-straight. The 2001 Big Ten Co-Coach of the Year and 2003 and '04 Big Ten Coach of the Year outright, one of Wilkins' Penn State players has either won or been the runner-up for the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy each year of her four years. Her teams own an unbelievable 48-1 record at home, a .980 winning percentage, and Wilkins' record as a Big Ten head coach stands at 46-3-1 (.930). Wilkins' student-athletes have also achieved greatly off the field, with 2003 M.A.C. Hermann Trophy runner-up Joanna Lohman collecting her second-straight NSCAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year award the same year.
Weimer Ranked Nationally Again... Penn State leading scorer Tiffany Weimer is ranked nationally again in goals per game and points per game again after posting an outstanding year with 26 goals in 2004, her junior campaign. Entering the week, Weimer was ranked fifth in points per game (2.74) and third in goals per game (1.32).
Noteworthy: The Virginia and UCLA Upsets...
~ The Lions are now 12-14-2 vs. Top 10 Opponents.
~ The 1-0 overtime win at UCLA marked the 14th upset in Penn State women??s soccer history. Previously, the Lions upset earlier this season vs. then-No. 4 Virginia was the last upset.
~ Penn State??s five goals vs. Virginia are the most-ever vs. a Top 10 Opponent.
~ Penn State??s win over UCLA was the fourth ever over a Top 5 team.
~ Penn State??s win versus the Cavaliers snapped Virginia??s 21-game non-conference win streak.
~ The Nittany Lions?? win at UCLA marked the third-highest ranked team the Lions have upset in their history and Penn State??s win over No. 4 Virginia marked its fourth-highest victory ever over a ranked team. At the top of the list, then-No. 5 Penn State beat No. 1 North Carolina on Sept. 12, 1999, 3-2, in Chapel Hill, and then- No. 12 Penn State beat No. 2 UCLA, 1-0 (2OT), in Los Angeles.
~ The Lions?? attendance vs. Virginia, 2,768, set the Jeffrey Field record for attendance at a women??s soccer game. Previously, last year??s Indiana crowd of 2,366 on Sept. 24, 2004, was the program??s high.
Weimer Adds to Hat Trick History?? Senior striker Tiffany Weimer scored her third career hat trick during the August 26th game against Washington. She previously scored a hat trick on September 17, 2004, against Wisconsin and Sept. 27, 2002, vs. Indiana. It was the 15th hat trick in Penn State history.
Lion Co-Captains?? Senior Lindsay Bach and junior Ali Kreiger have been chosen as this year??s co-captains. A fifth-year senior, Bach is serving her second year as team captain, while Kreiger is in her first go-around.
??Watch?? These Three: PSU Trio on M.A.C. Hermann Watchlist... Senior standouts Natalie Jacobs, Erin McLeod and Tiffany Weimer are all among the 25 women??s soccer players nationally who have been placed on the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy watchlist. The M.A.C. Hermann Trophy is presented annually to the best men??s and women??s collegiate soccer players.
Further cementing the Nittany Lions?? place on the national landscape, only three schools (Penn State, North Carolina and Notre Dame) can tout three candidates on the watchlist. Over the past five years, a Nittany Lion has either won or been runner-up for the award. In 2000, U.S. National Team member and volunteer assistant coach Christie Welsh (1999-2002) was the runner-up before grabbing the award in 2001 and finishing as the runner-up again in 2002. Alumna Joanna Lohman (2000-03) was named runner-up in 2003, while Weimer made it to the list of finalists that year before finishing as the runner-up last season to Portland??s Christine Sinclair. No other school has had as many players finish in the top two slots for player of the year voting over the past five years.
A list of 15 semifinalists for the award will be announced in early November, with the three finalists announced in December. The trio will be invited to St. Louis for a news conference and dinner held at the Missouri Athletic Club on Jan. 6, 2006, where the winner of the award will be revealed. The winner is determined through voting of NCAA Division I members of the NSCAA.
Did You Know...
Five Penn State teams are leading the Big Ten this fall, including two that have already clinched conference titles and another that??s won the regular season crown? Additionally, all five are ranked, including four in the Top 10. No. 1 women??s soccer leads the pack with a 19-0 record after capturing its eighth-straight Big Ten championship. The Penn State women??s volleyball team is ranked third this week with a 21-3 record, and is leading the Big Ten as is 2005 Big Ten champion field hockey. Ranked No. 6, the Lion field hockey squad (17-2) is also competing at Big Tens this weekend at Iowa. No. 9 Football (8-1) battles Wisconsin in Happy Valley this weekend for sole control of the Big Ten race, and No. 14 men??s soccer (9-6-2) has already won the Big Ten regular season, earning the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament at Northwestern.