Sept. 21, 2007
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Sept. 23, 2007 < 12:30="" p.m.="">
No. 17 Penn State (4-2-1) at No. 21 Notre Dame (2-3-1)
TV: ESPNU (Live) < live="" stats="" &="" audio:="">
South Bend, Ind. < alumni="">
PENN STATE AT NO. 21 NOTRE DAME THIS SUNDAY... The Nittany Lions' next contest is vs. No. 21 Notre Dame in South Bend on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ETlive on ESPNU. The game is the third nationally televised contest for the Penn State this year. The game is a re-match of the 2006 PSU/ND NCAAQuarterfinal game that eventual national runner-up Notre Dame won 4-0.
NEXT UP: COLGATE AND ILLINOIS AT HOME... The women's soccer team meets Colgate on Wednesday, Sept. 26 as part of a men's/women's doubleheader at Jeffrey Field. The women's team hosts Colgate at 5 p.m. before the men's team tangles with Penn immediately following. On Sunday, Penn State kicks off its conference title defense live on the Big Ten Network vs. 2006 runner-up Illinois. Gametime is 3 p.m. ET.
SERIES HISTORY VS. NOTRE DAME... This weekend, Penn State looks for its first victory in the all-time series against Notre Dame. The teams have played each other only twice with the Nittany Lions trailing in the all-time series 0-2. Last year, Penn State suffered a 4-0 loss to the undefeated and No. 1-seeded Irish in the NCAA Quarterfinals held in South Bend. The first meeting between the two teams was the season-opening game in 2001 at the KeyBank Classic held in South Bend with Penn State losing 2-1.
MATCH WITH NO. 21 FIGHTING IRISH WILL BE FIFTH OF SEASON VS. A RANKED TEAM... After a 2-1 loss at No. 24 Tennessee, a 1-0 win in Storrs vs. UCONN and a 1-0 loss in Morgantown to the Mountaineers, Penn State ended its game last Sunday vs. No. 5 Texas A&Min a 1-1 tie, putting its record vs. ranked teams this year at 1-2-1. No. 17 Penn State's match at No. 21 Notre Dame will be its fifth out of eight games that has come vs. a ranked team. The Nittany Lions are 1-2 in away games vs. ranked teams in 2007.
PENN STATE HAS OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION VS. BUCKNELL... It took the Nittany Lions a full half to get warmed-up, but after the halftime break the offense was relentless vs. Bucknell on Wednesday, pouring on five goals in the final 45 minutes. The five goals marked the first game with five or more goals for the NittanyLions since their 5-2 victory over West Virginia on Nov. 13 during the 2005 NCAATournament. The last timePSU won by at least five goals was also during the 2005 NCAA Tournament, beating Bucknell 6-0 in the opening round on Nov. 11.
INDIVIDUALS HAVE NOTEWORTHY OUTINGS VS. BU... Senior tri-captain Aubrey Aden-Buie's (Allentown, Pa.) got her goals late Wednesday, including one at the 89:59 mark, and was one of three Nittany Lions to score three or more points in the 5-1 win over Bucknell. Redshirt-sophomore Ashley Myers (Bel Air, Md.)scored the team's first goal, also her first of the season, and assisted the second goal, which was the eventual gamewinner. Sophomore transfer Melissa Hayes (Cave Creek, Ariz.)scored her first points as a Nittany Lion, tallying three assists on the evening.
SCHOEPFER'S SCORING STRING... Striker Katie Schoepfer (Waterford, Conn.)scored the game-winner vs. Bucknell on Wednesday, marking the third straight game that the sophomore has scored either the game-winning or game-tying goal. After going scoreless through the first four games this year, Schoepfer netted the game-winner vs. previously unbeaten James Madison on Sept. 14 before getting the game-tying goal in the last five minutes of Penn State's 1-1 tie vs. No. 5 Texas A&M. On Wednesday, Schoepfer made it three straight games with the goal of consequence, netting the game-winner off an assist from Ashley Myersearly in the second half.
1-1 WEEKEND MOVES NITTANY LIONS BACK UP IN THE POLLS... A win over previously undefeated James Madison and a tie vs. then-No. 5 Texas A&M helped move the Nittany Lions back up in the polls, landing them at No. 17 in the NSCAA census and as high as No. 14 in the Soccer Buzz Poll.
SCHOEPFER PICKS UP NATIONAL, CONFERENCE HONORS... After the game-winning goal on Friday and the game-tying conversion on Sunday vs. No. 5 Texas A&M. sophomore forward Katie Schoepfer earned Soccer America National Team of the Week, Soccer Buzz Elite Team of the Week and Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week.
SOPHOMORE'S GOAL VS. TEXAS A&M NAMED "GOALOFTHEWEEK"... Katie Schoepfer's game-tying goal vs. Texas A&M not only helped boost her to conference and national honors, but also was named the "Goal of the Week" by Phlliy Soccer News.com. The goal helped the Nittany Lions to a tie vs. then-No. 5 Texas A&M in the last five minutes of regulation.
PENN STATE ALL-TIME VS. RANKED OPPONENTS... Posting a 1-2-1 record this season vs. ranked teams this year, Penn State is now 53-32-9 (.612) all-time vs. opponents ranked in the NSCAA poll. A complete list of the Nittany Lions' all-time ranked match-ups appears on page 4 of this release.
BIG TEN NETWORK HELPS BOOST TV COVERAGE TO AT LEAST SIX GAMES... Backed by the newly-launched BigTen Network, PennState's women's soccer team will enjoy national television coverage at least six times this fall. The then-No. 15 Nittany Lions' game at then-No. 17 Connecticut on Sept. 6 was the season's first NSCAA College Match of the Week and was televised live on Fox Soccer Channel. Last weekend, its match-up with No. 5 Texas A&M marked PennState's first Olympic Sporting Event on the Big Ten Network, one of four matches on the Network this fall including three at home. A rematch of Penn State's 2006 NCAAquarterfinal match at Notre Dame will be televised live on ESPNU on Sunday before the nine-time Big Ten champion NittanyLions' 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 theNittany Lions' Big Ten Network schedule for the year, making for six TVappearances before the postseason even begins.
GRAY, RILEY ON M.A.C. HERMANN TROPHY WATCH LIST... 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.Y.) 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.
Head coach Erica Walsh and Carly Bedesem. |
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 Walshassumed control of the Nittany Lion program in February. Now carrying a career record 44-32-2, 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. Her full bio appears on the next page.
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 PennState 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.).
NAEHER CHOSENAS 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.
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. Its 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... Erica Walsh's podcast is in full swing and available weekly on GoPSUsports.com. For teh remainder of the Nittany Lions' 2007 season, check back weekly each Monday to hear Walsh's impressions of the previous week's action as well as get a look into the next week. Fans can submit questions to be asked during the podcast by emailing them to askerica@athletics.psu.edu
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.
NITTANY LIONS' CHAMPIONSHIP STREAK NOTEWORTHY... By clinching the 2006 Big Ten title on Oct. 22, 2006, Penn State pushed its championship run to nine-straight. The streak is now tied with Indiana women's tennis and Northwestern women's tennis for the second-longest in Big Ten women's championship history. Last year, the conference celebrated its 25th Anniversary of Big Ten Women's Championships.
| LONGEST BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP STREAKS | ||
| 12 | Michigan Swimming & Diving | 87-98 |
| 9 | Penn State Women's Soccer | 98-Pres. |
| 9 | Indiana Tennis | 1987-95 |
| 9 | Northwestern Tennis | 1999-Pres. |