Sept. 5, 2007
Sept. 6, 2007 < 8="" p.m.="">
No. 15 Penn State (1-1) at No. 17 Connecticut (1-1)
LIVE- Fox Soccer Channel, Live Stats- GoPSUsports.com Storrs, Conn. < joseph="" j.="" morrone="" stadium="">
THIS WEEK: AT UCONN ONFOX SOCCER CHANNEL, AT WVU... No. 15 Penn State (1-1) travels to No. 17 Connecticut (1-1) for a Thursday night match live on Fox Soccer Channel at 8 p.m. The match in Storrs will be the seventh all-time between the two teams. On Sunday, Sept. 9, the Nittany Lions travel to No. 23 West Virginia for a 1 p.m. match-up. Both games this week be available live vs. Gametracker on the Gametrack PSUpage on GoPSUsports.com.
RECAPPING OPENING WEEKEND... Then-No. 7 Penn State went 1-1 during opening weekend, falling 2-1 at then-No. 24 Tennessee. The Nittany Lions boucned back with a 1-0 victory over UCF. The UCF win was first-year head coach Erica Walsh's first at Penn State.
ALL-TIME RECORD VS. CONNECTICUT... With a 5-0-1 lead in the series, Penn State has won its last five matches vs. Connecticut, including a 2-1 victory over the Huskies in the last meeting on Aug. 28, 2005. The Nittany Lions are 3-0-1 all-time in Storrs, with a pair of wins in that batch coming during the NCAA Tournament. Penn State's last game in Storrs was on Sept. 3, 2004, vs. then-No. 8 UConn. The Nittany Lions were victorious, 2-1, in the night game.
ALL-TIME RECORD VS. WEST VIRGINIA... In a series dating back to 2003, the Nittany Lions are 2-1-0 all-time vs. the Mountaineers. Last season, West Virginia ended the Nittany Lions' 16-game win streak at Jeffrey Field, which dated back to the postseason of 2004. The loss was also the team's first against a ranked team in the 21 meetings vs. squads in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's Top 25. Senior forward Aubrey Aden-Buie (Allentown, Pa.) scored the Lions' lone goal in the game, a 2-1 loss.
ON THE HORIZON, PSU COMES HOME SEPT. 14, 16... After a four-game road swing, including three games vs. ranked opponents, Penn State finally comes home next Friday and Sunday to host the Penn State Invitational. No. 3 Texas A&M meets No. 23 West Virginia in the opening game on Friday, Sept. 14, at 5 p.m. at Jeffrey Field. No. 15 Penn State then follows with a match against James Madison at 7:30 p.m. On Sunday, Sept. 16, Penn State meets Texas A&Min its first Big Ten Network match at 1 p.m. September is Youth Soccer Month, which will be highlighted throughout the day's events.
MATCH WITH NO. 24 TENNESSEE SECOND OF FIVE VS. TOP 25 TEAMS... After a 2-1 loss at No. 24 Tennessee onFriday, Penn State is looking to write the ship vs. the rankeds when they meet No. 17 Connecticut on Thursday. The meeting will be one of five 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. 3 Texas A&M, No. 17 Connecticut, and No. 23 West Virginia. Two of Penn State's Big Ten opponents are also receiving votes, Illinois finished just out of the Top 25 with Purdue and Michigan also receiving votes.
PENN STATE ALL-TIME VS. RANKED OPPONENTS... After a 2-1 loss at Tennessee, Penn State is now 52-31-8 (.615) all-time vs. opponents ranked in the NSCAA poll.
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'sfirst game at Jeffrey Field on Aug. 25. Goals were scored by Aubrey Aden-Buie 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 Walshassumed control of the Nittany Lion program in February. Now carrying a career record 41-29-3 after the opening weekend, 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 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.).
BIG TEN NETWORK HELPS BOOST TV COVERAGE TO ATLEAST 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 No. 15 Nittany Lions' game at No. 17 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 NCAAquarterfinal match at Notre Dame will be televised live on ESPNU on Sept. 23 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 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 15TH, PSU 14TH, 17TH AND 21ST IN OTHER POLLS... Penn Satte fell to No. 15 after its opening-weekend loss to Top 25 Tennessee, but has two matches this week vs. ranked opponents to make up for it. The Nittany Lions are also ranked in the Top 25 in three other polls, coming in at No. 21 in the Soccer America rankings, No. 17 according to Soccer Buzz and No. 14 in the Soccer Times poll.
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... Beginning this week, Erica Walsh's weekly podcast will be available 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 get 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.
NITTANY LIONS' CHAMPIONSHIP STREAK NOTEWORHTHY... 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 this year.
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. |
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 PennState. Redshirt-senior Jean Rettig studied abroad in New Zealand, while senior Kaleen Adami and redshirt-junior Zoe Bouchellewere abroad in Argentina.