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Aug. 30, 2007
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
Knoxville, Tenn.August 31, 2007 - 8 p.m.
No. 7 Penn State at No. 24 Tennessee
September 2, 2007 - 10:30 a.m.
No. 7 Penn State vs. Central Florida
OPENING WEEKEND... Under the direction of first-year head coach Erica Walsh, No. 7 Penn State travels to Knoxville, Tenn., for its season opening games at the First Tennessee Lady Vol Classic on Aug. 31 and Sept. 2. Seventh-ranked Penn State meets No. 24 host Tennessee on Friday night at 8 p.m. before taking on Central Florida on Sunday, Sept. 2 at 10:30 a.m. Penn State then continues its road stint at No. 16 Connecticut on Thursday, Sept. 6 with kick-off at 8 p.m. live on Fox Soccer Channel.
PENN STATE IN SEASON OPENERS... Penn State is 9-4 all-time in season openers, winning their last two against Top 25 opponents. On August 26, 2005, Penn State beat then-No. 20 Washington, 3-2, at Jeffrey Field. Last season, the Nittany Lions upset then-No. 2 UCLA, 3-1, when they were ranked third nationally. The Nittany Lions are 5-3 vs. ranked teams in season openers. Penn State is 1-4 in road openers, only winning at then-No. 24 James Madison on Sept. 1, 1996. Penn State has never been shutout in 13 season openers and has won all nine when scoring two or more goals.
PSU HEAD COACHES IN CAREER OPENERS... New head coach Erica Walsh has the chance to turn the tables on PSU history when she takes on 24th-ranked Tennessee Friday. A win would make Walsh the first head coach in school history to win his or her first career game as the Penn State head coach. At No. 23 James Madison on Sept. 3, 1994, Patrick Farmer, Penn State's first head coach, lost to JMU, 4-1. Upon taking over the program in 2001, Farmer's former assistant Paula Wilkins lost 2-1 at then-No. 4 Notre Dame on Aug. 31.
ALL-TIME RECORD VS. TENNESSEE... After a 1-1 rain-soaked tie last year in Happy Valley, Penn State's all-time record vs. Tennessee stands at 0-0-1.
ALL-TIME RECORD VS. CENTRAL FLORIDA... Sunday's meeting is the first between Penn State and Central Florida.
MATCH WITH NO. 24 TENNESSEE FIRST OF SEVEN VS. TOP 25 TEAMS... When No. 7 Penn State squares-off against No. 24 Tennessee on Friday, it will be the first of seven games the Nittany Lions will play against ranked teams this year. In addition to the battle with the 24th-ranked Lady Vols, Penn State will also meet No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 5 Texas A&M, No. 15 Purdue, No. 16 Connecticut, No. 20 Illinois, and No. 21 West Virginia.
PENN STATE DOWNS DELAWARE, 2-0, IN ONLY EXHIBITION CONTEST... The Nittany Lions were victorious in the only preseason match they played, beating Delaware, 2-0, during Erica Walsh's first game at Jeffrey Field on Aug. 25. Goals were scored by Aubrey Aden-Buie (Allentown, Pa.) and Sheree Gray (Toms River, N.J.).
MEET ERICA WALSH... After head coaching stints at Harvard and Dartmouth and significant time spent coaching in the U.S. Youth National Team program, Erica Walsh assumed control of the Nittany Lion program in February. Carrying a career record 40-28-3, she is the third head coach in Penn State's history. A 1997 William & Mary grad, she has met success at every junction of her career and is poised to continue and enhance the Nittany Lions' grand tradition.
WALSH'S STAFF BLENDS OLD AND NEW... Joining first-year coach Erica Walsh on the sideline this season will be two new faces and a familiar one as well. Ann Cook, a standout player that was at William & Mary with Walsh, comes to the PSU staff after being an assistant coaching at Nebraska. Goalkeeping coach Mariel Wilner was with Walsh at Harvard and joins Penn State as a volunteer assistant after earning her degree in 2007 from Northeastern. Among all of the new faces remains a Penn State staple in Michael Coll. In his fourth season as an assistant with the women's team, Coll both played on and coached the men's team at some point in his career in addition to a head coaching stint with the women's soccer team at St. Francis (Pa.).
BIG TEN NETWORK HELPS BOOST TV COVERAGE TO AT LEAST SIX GAMES... Backed by the newly-launched Big Ten Network, Penn State's women's soccer team will enjoy national television coverage at least six times this fall. The No. 7 Nittany Lions' game at No. 16 Connecticut on Sept. 6 will be the season's first NSCAA College Match of the Week and will be televised live on Fox Soccer Channel. Once No. 7 Penn State returns home, its Top 10 match-up with No. 5 Texas A&M will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network, one of four matches on the Network this fall. A rematch of Penn State's 2006 NCAA quarterfinal match at Notre Dame will be televised live on ESPNU on Sept. 23 before the nine-time Big Ten champion Nittany Lions' conference match-up with 2006 runner-up Illinois on Sept. 30 on the Big Ten Network. Penn State's away match at Minnesota on Oct. 21 and its home match vs. Indiana at 1 p.m. will round out the Nittany Lions' Big Ten Network schedule for the year, making for six TV appearances before the postseason even begins.
GRAY, RILEY ON M.A.C. HERMANN TROPHY WATCHLIST... Nittany Lions have become staples among M.A.C. Hermann Trophy candidates and this year is no exception as junior midfielder Sheree Gray (Toms River, N.J.) and senior defender Denay Riley (Washingtonville, N.J.) are among the preseason candidates for collegiate soccer's version of the Heisman Trophy. Penn State was one of 13 schools with two or more candidates on the preseason list.
NAEHER CHOSEN AS SOCCER AMERICA PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN... Alyssa Naeher (Seymour, Conn.) is one of only three preseason All-Americans at goalkeeper according to Soccer America, and is also the youngest, only having one college season under her belt thus far. Naeher is also one of only four sophomores on the 23-player list.
NSCAA RANKS LIONS SEVENTH, PSU 10TH, 11TH AND 12TH IN OTHER POLLS... After its 10th Top 10 ranking in the final NSCAA poll, Penn State starts the season at No. 7 according to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America rankings. The Nittany Lions are ranked No. 12 or higher in three other polls, coming in at No. 11 in the Soccer America rankings, No. 12 according to Soccer Buzz and No. 10 by Soccer Times.
PENN STATE PICKED TO FINISH FIRST IN THE BIG TEN... The Nittany Lion women's soccer team has been picked by the coaches to finish at the top of the conference this year, as announced by the Big Ten. A 2007 championship would mark the Nittany Lions 10th consecutive conference title. Their selection at the top of the poll marks the fifth-straight year that Penn State has been picked to win the Big Ten crown. The Nittany Lions' string of nine consecutive titles is tied for the second-longest championship streak in Big Ten history. The streak is also the longest active streak nationally.
WALSH'S WEEKLY PODCAST... Starting this Tuesday, Sept. 4, Erica Walsh's weekly podcast will debut on GoPSUsports.com. From there through the Nittany Lions' 2007 season, check back weekly each Monday to hear Walsh's impressions of the previous week's action as well as ge t a look into the next week.
NAEHER RETURNS IN NETS AFTER SILVER EFFORT WITH U-20S... Sophomore Alyssa Naeher returns to the Nittany Lions' line-up after an outstanding effort with the U.S. Under-20 team at the Pan Am Games this summer. After a strong year her freshman campaign that was cut short due to injury, Naeher healed-up and traveled to Brazil where she put forth a stellar effort including starts in the semifinals and final game of the tournament. The U.S. team eventually lost to homestanding Brazil's full national team, giving Naeher unparalleled experience heading into her sophomore season.
CAPTAINS NAMED... Redshirt-senior defender Jean Rettig (Hummelstown, Pa.), senior striker Aubrey Aden-Buie (Allentown, Pa.) and junior defender Jessie Davis (Fairfax, Va.) have been selected as the 2007 tri-captains for the Nittany Lions. A starter over past three years, Rettig is back after a concussion cut her season short in 2006. Aden-Buie led the Nittany Lions last season with 12 goals and 28 points, while the youngster of the trio Davis started last year and came on strong in the postseason to help the offense as well.
WELCOME BACK!... Several Nittany Lions studied abroad in the spring, but returned this fall to compete again for Penn State. Redshirt-senior Jean Rettig studied abroad in New Zealand, while senior Kaleen Adami and redshirt-junior Zoe Bouchelle were abroad in Argentina.