| #9 Denay Riley, Junior Defender |
No. 8 Penn State Hosts Boston College Sunday in NCAA Third Round... No. 2 seed Penn State (17-4-3, 8-1-1 Big Ten) welcomes the Boston College Golden Eagles (12-6-3, 5-3-2 ACC) to Jeffrey Field for NCAA Women's Soccer Third Round action. Game time is 1 p.m. with the winner meeting No. 1-ranked Notre Dame in a quarterfinal match-up in South Bend, Ind. tentatively set for 7:30 p.m. on Fri., Nov. 24.
Livestats and Audio Available on Tournament Central... This weekend's Penn State women's soccer game will be available via livestats on www.GoPSUsports.com, your official source for Penn State athletics. Click on Tournament Central, which will take you to all Gametracker links, boxscores, quotes, photos and more! Penn State's game vs. Boston College will also be available through free live audio.
Lions in Their 12th NCAA Tournament... Penn State is making its 12th-straight appearance in the NCAA women's soccer tournament. The Nittany Lions have been part of the tournament field all but one year, their first as a Division I program in 1994. A complete Penn State NCAA history appears on page 3 of this release.
Series History... The Nittany Lions have only faced Boston College once in the program's 13 year history. That meeting was September 13, 2002, in Boston, with a 2-2 result.
Common Opponents of These Not-So-Common Opponents... This year Boston College and Penn State have two common opponents, Northeastern and Harvard. Boston College defeated Northeastern, 4-0, on Sept. 1, with goals from Kia McNeil, Gina DiMartino, Heather Ferron and Tara Luciani. Boston College defeated Harvard, 3-2, on Sept. 9 with goals from Kia McNeil, Gina DiMartino and Caitlin Burke. Penn State also defeated both teams, Northeastern, 2-0, with goals from Sarah Dwyer (Califon, N.J.) and Denay Riley (Washingtonville, N.Y.) and Harvard, 3-2, in overtime with two goals from Katie Schoepfer (Waterford, Conn.) and a goal from Dwyer.
Nittany Lions in the Third Round... Penn State has made it to the NCAA third round six times in program history. In those games, the Nittany Lions hold a 5-1 record, with their only third round loss coming in 2000 to Portland. At home the Lions are 4-1 all time and 1-0 on the road in the third round. The Nittany Lions' Sunday game vs. Boston College marks the fourth time out of the last five years that Penn State has hosted a third round game.
| #22 Ali Krieger, Senior Defender |
Penn State's ACC Tournament History... Penn State carries an overall record of 4-3 vs. ACC teams in the NCAA tournament. Past results: 1998 vs. Clemson (W, 1-0), 1999 vs. Maryland (W, 3-2), 1999 College Cup semifinal vs. North Carolina (L, 0-2), 2001 vs. North Carolina (L, 1-2), 2002 vs. Maryland (W, 2-1), 2002 vs. Virginia (W, 3-0), 2004 vs. Maryland (L, 0-1).
Familiar Faces... Two opponents in Sunday's game will look very familiar to each other after competing for the same team over the summer. Penn State's Sheree Gray (Toms River, N.J.) and Boston College's Jenny Maurer were travel partners when they played together in the 2006 Nordic Cup in Norway.
Last Time Out in the NCAA Tournament... One of last year's national semifinalists, Penn State is pushing for another trip to the College Cup and its first national championship in program history. Last season, the Lions used wins over Bucknell (First round, 6-0), West Virginia (Second round, 5-2), No. 4 seed Texas A&M (Third round, 4-1), and No. 2 Santa Clara (Quarterfinals, 2-1) all at home to reach their third-ever College Cup semifinal. Despite one of the most potent offenses in the nation as well as one of its best strikers in M.A.C. Hermann Trophy runner-up Tiffany Weimer, Penn State played eventual champion Portland and M.A.C. Hermann Trophy winner Christine Sinclair to a scoreless tie before failing to advance after penalty kicks, 4-3. The tie gave the Lions their first undefeated, albeit NCAA championship-less, season in program history with a 23-0-2 record.
Nittany Lions Enjoy Fourth Year Among Top 8... Penn State's No. 2 seed in the 2006 NCAA Tournament marks the fourth straight year that the Nittany Lions have been seeded among the Top 8 teams in the nation entering the NCAA Tournament. Last year, Penn State earned a No. 1 seed and the previous season, 2004, was the No. 2 seed overall. The 2003 season saw Penn State earn a No. 5 seed. The NIttany Lions were also seeded among the Top 8 entering the tournament in 2000 (No. 7), 1999 (No. 6), and 1998 (No. 7). In 12 appearances, that makes a total of seven among the Top 8 teams for Penn State.
Krieger on M.A.C. Hermann Trophy Semifinal List... Senior captain Ali Krieger (Dumfries, Va.) has been named to the 15-player list of semifinalists for the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy, given to the collegiate player of the year. Krieger is one of three defenders on the list. Her inclusion marks the seventh consecutive year that a Nittany Lion have been a semifinalist for the award, which is considered the Heisman Trophy of college soccer. In each of the past six years, a Nittany Lion has either won or been the runner-up for the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy, including 2001 winner Christie Welsh.
Krieger Earns Soccer America, Soccer Buzz Honors... Senior captain Ali Krieger, 2006 Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Year, was named to Soccer America and SoccerBuzz Team of the Week for her performance during the Big Ten Tournament (Nov. 2-5). Krieger helped lead the Penn State women's soccer team defensively to a 3-1 win over Illinois in the final on Nov. 5 after results the previous two rounds of 3-2 over Northwestern and 2-0 vs. Michigan.
Lions Grab Conference Honors... After winning its ninth-straight Big Ten title, six Nittany Lions were named to the All-Big Ten team. Senior captain Ali Krieger earned co-Defensive Player of the Year honors and head coach Paula Wilkins earned her fifth Coach of the Year honor in her six-year tenure. Four LIons were named to the All-Big Ten first team. Joining senior defender Krieger were junior Aubrey Aden-Buie (Allentown, Pa.), sophomore Sheree Gray, and sophomore Allie Long (Northport, N.Y.). Junior defender Denay Riley (Washingtonville, N.Y.) and freshman Alyssa Naeher (Seymour, Conn.) earned second team kudos. Naeher and Katie Schoepfer (Waterford, Conn.) garnered all-freshman team honors to round out the Penn State list of honorees. Senior Sarah Dwyer (Califon, N.J.) was the team's Big Ten Sportsmanship honoree.
| #3 Jessie Davis, Sophomore Defender |
Aden-Buie Selected Academic All-District... In addition to being a 2006 first team All-Big Ten selection, junior forward Aubrey Aden-Buie earned the honor of being a member of the ESPN the Magazine First Team Academic All-District squad, as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Aden-Buie, who is currently riding a 3.74 GPA in psychology, garnered the academic first team selection in District II, which encompasses the states of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia as well as the District of Columbia. To be eligible for honors a player must earn a 3.2 cumulative GPA or higher, be at least of sophomore academic standing and be a starter or key reserve for their squad. Aden-Buie now advances to the national team ballot for ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America consideration.
Lions Win Championship with 8-1-1 Record... Penn State used an 8-1-1 conference record to capture its ninth straight Big Ten title. After a pair of perfect Big Ten seasons, the eight wins and one tie (25 points) was the lowest win total the Lions used to clinch the title since their 2001 championship season that was also an 8-1-1 record. The lowest total to yield the Lions a conference crown? Penn State's first of the nine they own in 1998. That year, Penn State took it all with a 7-1-1 mark (23 points) before Purdue joined the field.
Penn State Puts 13th-straight Winning Big Ten Season in the Record Books... The Lions' 8-1-1 conference record marked the 13th consecutive winning season for the Lions, keeping them perfect as a program. The nine-time Big Ten champions, Penn State has never finished lower then third (1995 and '97) in the conference.
Lion Big Ten History
1994 5-2 T2nd 1995 4-2-1 3rd 1996 5-1-1 2nd 1997 6-2-1 3rd 1998 7-1-1 1st 1999 9-0-1 1st 2000 10-0-0 1st 2001 8-1-1 1st 2002 9-1-0 1st 2003 9-1-0 1st 2004 10-0-0 1st 2005 10-0-0 1st 2006 8-1-1 1st
Lions' Championship Streak Noteworthy... By clinching the 2006 Big Ten title on Oct. 22, Penn State pushed its championship run to nine-straight. The streak is now tied with Indiana women's tennis for the second-longest in Big Ten women's championship history. Northwestern tennis has a chance to make it a three-way tie this spring, and sits third with eight consecutive titles. The conference is celebrating its 25th Anniversary of Big Ten Women's Championships this year.
LONGEST BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP STREAK
12 Michigan Swimming & Diving 1987-98 9 Penn State Women's Soccer 1998-Pres. 9 Indiana Tennis 1987-95 8 Northwestern Tennis 1999-Present
Reaching New Heights... In the final regular season weekend, the Lions won their 100th Big Ten regular season game since entering the conference in 1994. Over the past 13 years, Penn State has won nearly 87 percent of its conference games and has posted a mark of 100-12-7 all-time, after a 8-1-1 overall record this year.