Oct. 2, 2007
University Park, Pa. - Penn State will look for a season-long third straight win on Wednesday as the No. 9 Nittany Lions host No. 20 Syracuse in a matinee contest at 4:00 p.m. Penn State (7-4, 1-1 Big Ten) has won its last two straight games while scoring a combined nine goals in those two contests while Syracuse (10-2, 2-1 Big East) is ranked for the second time this year after knocking off a ranked opponent in American over the weekend.
This will mark the 25th straight year that Penn State and Syracuse have met in field hockey, which is the third-longest current running series for Penn State. Only West Chester and Connecticut have met Penn State on the field hockey pitch for more consecutive years currently than the Orange. Penn State holds a 23-1-1 advantage in the series. Syracuse's only win in the series came in 2004, an overtime win in Syracuse. The Orange have never defeated the Nittany Lions in State College. Penn State won last year in Syracuse by a narrow 3-2 score while the Lions topped Syracuse 3-0 in the teams' last meeting in State College in 2005.
Syracuse, which was No. 20 for one week earlier in the season, rentered the rankings at No. 20 this week, mainly on the strength of a win over a ranked American team last weekend. The Orange's only losses this year have been to Temple, whom Penn State defeated 2-0 in mid-September, and to a ranked Louisville team.
The Nittany Lions are on a hot streak offensively, having score four goals last Wednesday vs. Lock Haven and five in a win over Northwestern on Sunday. The wealth has been spread around, however, as four different players scored vs. Lock Haven and four different players scored the five goals against the Wildcasts. Senior Natalie Blasco recorded her second career multiple-goal game against Northwestern while teammate Bethany Marvel scored her first career goal and recorded her first career assist. Against Lock Haven, sophomore Amy Bonenberger scored her first career goal.
Wednesday's game will not only ring in October, but it will also wrap up a three-game homestand. Penn State will look to finish off the homestand with a perfect 3-0 record before taking to the road for two games, the first of which will come at Indiana on Sunday in a game that will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.