| Senior team captain Ali Krieger accepted the Big Ten trophy from Tim Curley - Penn State Director of Athletics - on behalf of the women's soccer team. |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; October 22, 2006 - - With a goal from junior Denay Riley (Washingtonville, N.Y.), No. 9 Penn State beat Northwestern, 2-1, and was able to capture its ninth consecutive Big Ten title. The title streak is now tied with Indiana women1s tennis as the second longest run in women1s conference championship history. The Nittany Lions' victory over Northwestern also marks the program1s 100th Big Ten regular season win. The championship is the 48th Big Ten title or tournament championship for Penn State since joining the Big Ten.
The Class of 2006, pictured below - Sarah Dwyer, Jean Rettig, Ali Krieger, Heather Tomko and Holly Lincoln - was honored prior to today's game as part of Senior Day activities. This year's seniors captured four consecutive Big Ten championhips and didn't lose a conference game at Jeffrey Field.
Northwestern jumped on the board mid-way through the first half with a breakaway goal by Alicia Herczeg. Herczeg fielded a ball 25 yards out, with Alyssa Naeher (Seymour, Conn.) leaving the box to meet her just as she tapped the ball over Naeher's head. The ball hit off the right post and dribbled into to the left corner of the net to put the Wildcats up 1-0 at the 24:52 mark.
Penn State wasn't able to tie the match up until the 69:03 mark when redshirt-sophomore Zoe Bouchelle (Cockeysville, Md.) found sophomore Allie Long (Northport, N.Y.), who from the left side fit the ball between Northwestern goalkeeper Lauren Johnston and the left post. With the 1-1 score, Penn State continued to fight for the win and the Big Ten championship. The Lions got the result they were looking for when a foul resulted in a free kick on the left side of the field in Northwestern territory. Long took the kick and found Riley through traffic for the gamewinning goal at the 78:13 mark. The goal was Riley's second goal of the year, signaling her first gamewinner.
| The nine-time Big Ten Champions |
"I am very proud of the way our team played not just today, but how they fought throughout the season," said Penn State head coach Paula Wilkins. "Winning our ninth-straight Big Ten championship as a program is a testament not only to this group of players, but also the players who came before them. It's a wonderful accomplishment for our program in a very good conference. This is a great moment, but we've still got a tough road ahead of us before Big Tens and NCAAs with Navy on the road on Thursday."
The Nittany Lions out-shot the Wildcats 12-7. After a slow start, the Nittany Lions dominated the shot column in the second half with a 9-2 edge.
The Lions also controlled the ball for much of the second half. Naeher ended the game with two saves for the Lions, while Johnston finished the day with three saves for the Wildcats.
Penn State has one regular season game remaining at Navy on Thursday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. The Nittany Lions will host the Big Ten Tournament at Jeffrey Field for the first time in eight years on Nov. 2-5. Penn State will be the No. 1 seed for the ninth straight year. All session ticket prices, which include admission to all tournament games, are on sale now. Tickets are $15.00 for all-session adult passes and $10.00 for youth, senior citizen, and student all-session passes. Tickets can be ordered through the Penn State ticket office by calling 1-800-833-5533 or locally at 814-863-1000.
Single day passes will be sold at the gate during each game. Adult tickets will be $6.00 each, with youth, senior citizen and student tickets $4.00 each and a group rate set at $3.00. Groups are defined as 10 or more persons. There are no age requirements for members of the groups.