Sept. 14, 2007
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - A Katie Schoepfer (Waterford, Conn.) second-half goal propelled the No. 20 Nittany Lions (3-2) to a 1-0 win over visiting James Madison (5-1) on Friday night at Jeffrey Field. The Nittany Lions will host No. 5 Texas A&M Sunday when they try to break the Jeffrey Field attendance record at 1 p.m. for their live game on the Big Ten Network.
After a competitive first half where Penn State led in shots 15-6, the score was knotted at zero. Much of the first half was played in James Madison territory, but the Nittany Lions were unable to capitalize on any of the scoring chances. Alyssa Naeher (Seymour, Conn.) came up with four big saves to keep the Dukes off the scoreboard.
Naeher's strong play continued in the second half, when she stepped in front of a Cate Tisinger shot at the 54:42 mark. Tisinger's clean shot proved to be James Madison's best scoring opportunity on the evening.
Just 26 seconds later, Schoepfer streaked into James Madison territory off a Sheree Gray (Toms River, N.J.) pass. Schoepfer beat the keeper to a loose ball just inside the box, and knocked the ball into the left corner of the net to give Penn State the 1-0 lead at the 55:08 mark.
That goal proved to be all the Nittany Lions needed. Behind another strong effort from Naeher between the posts, the Nittany Lion women's soccer team notched its third victory of the season. Penn State dominated the shot category on the box score 25-13. Naeher finished the evening with six saves, while James Madison keeper Missy Reimert concluded the game with five saves. The Nittany Lions also led in corner kicks 9-6.
Sunday's women's soccer game will be a Top 20 battle between the 20th-ranked Nittany Lions and the 5th-ranked Aggies (4-1). Gametime is set for 1 p.m. and the game will be aired live on the Big Ten Network, signaling the first Penn State Olympic sporting event to be televised by the Network. The game will also be available live via Gametracker on the Gametrack PSU page on GoPSUsports.com.
September is Youth Soccer Month, which will include a reading of the Youth Soccer Month proclamation by State College Mayor Bill Welch and youth games pregame and at halftime. This Sunday's game vs. Texas A&M will be the first ever Code Blue event, representing an initiative by the Student-Athlete Advisory Board (SAAB) to get more students involved in supporting Penn State athletic teams. Code Blue T-shirts will be given out to the first 200 students and one lucky student will win a $100 gift certificate to the Penn State Bookstore. The Official 2007 Penn State women's soccer poster will be given out Sunday and the Nittany Lions will be around to sign autographs for fans after the game.