- Game Notes (.PDF)
| Aubrey Aden-Buie. |
No. 2 Seed Penn State Meets No. 1 and Undefeated Notre Dame in Quarterfinals... The No. 2 seed Nittany Lion women??s soccer team will make its eighth NCAA quarterfinal appearance in the past nine years when it meets No. 1 seed Notre Dame on Friday, Nov. 24 at 7:30 p.m. in South Bend, Ind. Penn State (18-4-3) is the nine-time reigning Big Ten champions, while the Fighting Irish (23-0-1) are the only remaining undefeated team in the nation after winning the BIG EAST.
Live Coverage Information... The No. 8 Lions?? quarterfinal game vs. the No. 1 Fighting Irish will be carried on both GameTracker livestats and via live audio, both provided by Notre Dame.
Fourth Ever College Cup Trip on the Line... When the Nittany Lions take to the field on Friday night in South Bend, Penn State will be playing for its fourth berth ever in the NCAA College Cup. Thirteen years young, the Penn State program has made College Cup appearances in 1999, 2002 and 2005.
Match-up Revisits Historic Event for Wilkins... The Friday match with Notre Dame will no doubt bring back memories for Penn State head coach Paula Wilkins. Wilkins took the helm of the Nittany Lion program in 2001 after serving as an assistant under Pat Farmer since the program??s inception in 1994. The Lions?? match-up with Notre Dame in 2001 was Wilkins?? first game as Penn State??s head coach, but resulted in a 2-1 loss. The loss was one of only three Wilkins?? squad would take that year en route to a Big Ten championship and a Big Ten Tournament title. Wilkins is now in her sixth year and has a 119-18-11 career record as a head coach after leading the Lions to six straight Big Ten titles and two Big Ten Tournament titles.
Series History... A storied rivalry on the gridiron, Penn State and Notre Dame have met only once on the pitch. The Nittany Lions lost a 2-1 decision in South Bend on Aug. 31, 2001. That only match to date was Paula Wilkins?? first game as a head coach.
Penn State and Notre Dame have played three like opponents this year: Michigan, Villanova and West Virginia. The Nittany Lions own a combined 3-1 record vs. the three squads, with the Fighting Irish posting a 3-0 mark.
In its match-ups with common opponents, Penn State beat Michigan twice (Sept. 24, 3-0, and Nov. 3, 2-0) on goals from Jessie Davis (first career goal), Ashley Myers, Aubrey Aden-Buie (two), Sarah Dwyer and Allie Long. Versus Villanova in the Nov. 12, 2-0, NCAA Tournament win, Dwyer and Davis both scored. In a 2-1 loss to West Virginia on Sept. 24, Aden-Buie was the lone Nittany Lion to score.
In its contests, Notre Dame defeated Michigan (2-0), West Virginia (3-1) and Villanova (4-2).
Nittany Lions in the Quarterfinals... The Nittany Lions have made it to the round of eight for all but one of the past nine years, including last year when their 2-1 defeat of Santa Clara in Happy Valley propelled Penn State to its third College Cup ever. Overall, Penn State is 3-4 in NCAA quarterfinal meetings, including a 1-3 record in road contests. The only win Penn State has on the road in the NCAA quarterfinals was in 2002 at Connecticut when it beat the Huskies, 2-1, to advance to the program??s second College Cup.
Penn State??s ??BIG EAST?? Tournament History... The Nittany Lions have a 5-0 record in NCAA play against teams from the BIG EAST, but has never met the Fighting Irish in the Tournament. Penn State first met Villanova in University Park on Nov. 18, 2001 and got a 3-0 win over the Wildcats. Since then the Nittany Lions have also met Connecticut twice in Storrs (Nov. 24, 2001: 2-0 and Nov. 30, 2002: 2-1), along with Rutgers in 2003 (Nov. 16, 3-1), and most recently in 2005 vs. West Virginia (Nov. 13, 5-2).
Program History vs. No. 1... Friday??s match with Notre Dame will be Penn State??s sixth game vs. the nation??s No. 1 team in program history. The Nittany Lions are 1-3-1 all-time in matches with the nation??s top team, including a scoreless tie in last year??s epic NCAA Tournament semifinal match with eventual champ Portland. Penn State??s first match vs. the No. 1 ranked team was on Sept. 12, 1999 at then-No. 1 North Carolina. Penn State won, 3-2, and went on to meet a top-ranked Carolina team three other times over the next three years, all resulting in losses. Head coach Paula Wilkins has coached three match-ups against the No. 1 team in the country, resulting in a 0-3-1 record.
Nittany Lion Attempting 16th Upset in Program History, Second Toppling of No. 1 Team... During its 13-year program history, Penn State has defeated 15 opponents and tied four ranked ahead of them or the same at the time of the meeting. This year, then-No. 3 Penn State upset UCLA when the Bruins were ranked second, 3-1. The complete list of the Lions?? all-time upsets and ties is on page 4 of this release.
Notre Dame Eighth Match-up vs. Ranked Team this Year... Penn State is no stranger to facing ranked teams this year, compiling a 3-2-2 record along the way. The Nittany Lions beat then-No. 2 UCLA (Aug. 25, 3-1), then-No. 15 Illinois (Nov. 5, 3-1) and then-No. 13 Boston College (Nov. 19, 1-0), a win that advanced the Lions to the NCAA quarterfinals. Penn State tied two teams in the NSCAA??s Top 25 at the time of the match-up in then-No. 14 Tennessee (Aug. 27, 1-1) and at then-No. 3 Texas A&M (Sept. 3, 1-1). The Lions?? losses vs. ranked teams this fall came at Illinois (Oct. 1, 2-3) and vs. West Virginia (Sept. 8, 1-2).
Penn State All-Time vs. Ranked Opponents... The Nittany Lions have enjoyed great success against ranked teams in their 13-year history, posting a 52-29-8 (.629) mark. Under head coach Paula Wilkins, the Lions enjoy a 33-10-4 (.745) all-time record vs. Top 25 teams, including the Lions?? 1-0 victory over No.13 Boston College last weekend in the NCAA third round.
And Then There was One... With Illinois?? third round loss to Florida State, Penn State is the only Big Ten team remaining among the final eight for the second year in a row.
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 2 of this release.
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 has 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.
Aden-Buie Selected Third-Team Academic All-American... In addition to being a 2006 first team All-Big Ten selection, junior forward Aubrey Aden-Buie (Allentown, Pa.) earned the honor of being a third team ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American, as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Aden-Buie, who is currently riding a 3.74 GPA in psychology, garnered first earned 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.
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.
| Ali Krieger. |
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, sophomore Sheree Gray (Toms River, N.J.), 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.
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 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.
Home Win-Streak Safe One More Year... Penn State extended its Big Ten regular season home win-streak to 40-straight when the Lions beat Northwestern, 2-1, on Oct. 24 to capture their ninth-straight Big Ten title. Penn State tied Michigan, 0-0, on Sept. 19, 1999, and has not lost a conference regular season game at home since Oct. 1, when then-No. 17 Minnesota beat the Lions 2-0 (53 straight games). Penn State??s all-time Big Ten regular season record at home is 58-1-3.
OUCH!... Penn State has struggled with the injury bug most of the season, and still has some injuries to contend with coming down the postseason stretch. In the second game of the year, junior Denay Riley suffered an ankle injury that kept her out until the Harvard Tournament (Sept. 15 &17) when she finally returned. In Texas, defensive starter Jean Rettig (Hummelstown, Pa.) was part of a collision that left her with a broken nose and a grade two concussion, keeping out of the starting line-up even now. Versus then-No. 17 West Virginia, midfield starter Sheree Gray suffered an injury that kept her out of the Bucknell game. After missing the first 16 games of the year, redshirt-sophomore Zoe Bouchelle (Cockeysville, Md.) finally returned to the line-up toward the end of the Big Ten season after a quad injury. Sophomore Allie Long missed the Lions?? first game of the NCAA Tournament with injury and starting freshman goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher has struggled with a thigh injury that has kept her out for most of the NCAA Tournament. The woes have gone on and on for the Lions, who hope that the last few games of the season will be kinder to Penn State??s training staff led by women??s soccer trainer Mike Gay.
| Allie Long |
Long Receives Triple Honors... Sophomore Allie Long scored five points in two wins to help the Penn State women??s soccer team to its ninth consecutive Big Ten championship, earning her first Big Ten weekly honor. In addition to the kudos from the conference (Long garnered Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week), she also earned a spot on Top Drawer Soccer??s Team of the Week and Soccer America??s Team of the Week. Long score two goals and added the assist on the Lions?? game-winner over Northwestern on Sunday to bring the championship home.
In addition to the game-winning assist in the Northwestern game, Long scored the Lions' second goal in the 3-0 win over Wisconsin, helping solidify the first of two victories for Penn State on the weekend. Versus Northwestern, Long used her only shot of the day to tie the game and then lent the game- winning assist on Denay Riley's goal to complete the comeback from a two-goal deficit and capture the Lions' ninth consecutive Big Ten title, tying it for the second longest streak in Big Ten women's championship history.
Naeher Earns Top Drawer Soccer Co-National Player of the Week... After recording two shutouts in one weekend against Minnesota and Ohio State, freshman goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher has been named Top Drawer Soccer Player of the Week, the first honor of her young career.
Following 386:09 consecutive minutes without allowing a goal, Naeher has posted shutouts in the last four games for the Nittany Lions, who are now in first place in the Big Ten.
The Seymour, Connecticut native now has six shutouts on the season helping Penn State to a 10-3-3 overall record.
Aden-Buie Garners First Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week... With three goals before heading into the Big Ten season, junior Aubrey Aden-Buie doubled her total in the opening weekend of conference play in games against Michigan State and Michigan. For her efforts, Aden-Buie was chosen as the Big Ten Women??s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career. She also garnered Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week accolades.
Aden-Buie??s first goal came Friday night against Michigan State when she scored off a penalty kick after being taken down in the box. The goal put the Lions in the lead against the Spartans with Penn State going on to win in overtime, 3-2.
On Sunday in a 4-1 victory over Michigan, Aden-Buie scored two of the four Lion goals. Her goals were the first and last of the day, sealing the victory over the Wolverines.
Dwyer Earns Honors Again... For her outstanding performance at the Harvard Tournament Sept. 15 and 17, senior Sarah Dwyer earned Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week honors. Dwyer??s first game-winner of her career came in the Lions?? 2-0 win over Northeastern. After the opening weekend, Dwyer earned Soccer America and Soccer Buzz Team of the Week honors.
Krieger Named to Preseason Hermann List, Garners Soccer America Preseason All-America Honors... Returning All-American Ali Krieger was singled during preseason for several national accolades. The senior midfielder has been named to the preseason M.A.C. Hermann Trophy watchlist and is also on Soccer America??s preseason All-America list.
Krieger, a second-year captain for the Lions, earned first team NSCAA All-America honors for the first time last season. A unanimous All-Big Ten pick in 2005, she scored seven goals, which was second highest on the team, and added two assists. She scored three game-winning tallies, including the deciding goal in overtime on a corner kick sequence in the 106th minute at Minnesota to preserve the Lions?? perfect Big Ten campaign. Krieger??s preseason Soccer America nod is the first of her career.
Penn State is the only school to have the winner or runner- up for the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy on its roster for the past six years. 2004 and ??05 runner-up Tiffany Weimer is back as an undergraduate assistant coach this season while she finishes her degree. This is Krieger??s first time on the preseason watchlist.
Long??s Trip to Russia... After missing the first few weeks of the season, Nittany Lion fans were happy to see sophomore midfielder Allie Long (Northport, N.Y.) return to action on Sept. 8 from her stint at the Under-20 World Cup in Russia. Long returned to her starting spot in the midfield for Penn State??s 2-1 loss to then-No. 17 West Virginia that night and has remained in the starting midfield ever since.
While in Russia, Long scored a goal in the match vs. Argentina, but the U.S. ultimately lost in penalty kicks in the third place match, 6-5, after a scoreless tie. That pk loss came just days after the U.S. dropped a 5-4 penalty kick decision to China after a 0-0 tie three days earlier.
Dwyer Named to Soccer America Team of the Week, Soccer Buzz Elite Team of the Week... Senior midfielder Sarah Dwyer was named to the Soccer America Team of the Week and the Soccer Buzz Elite Team of the Week for her opening-week performance in the Penn State Invitational. Dwyer tallied two assists out of the midfield in the No. 3 Lions?? 3-1 upset of No. 2 UCLA while contributing an all-around outstanding performance helping the Lions to a Penn State Invitational title for the second consecutive year.