Oct. 4, 2007
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Oct. 5, 2007 < 8:00="" p.m.="">
No. 11 Penn State (7-2-1, 1-0 Big Ten) at Wisconsin (3-5-1, 0-2 Big Ten)
Madison, Wis. < dan="" mcclimon="" memorial="" track/soccer="" complex="">
Oct. 7, 2007 < 12:00="" p.m.="">
No. 11 Penn State (7-2-1, 1-0 Big Ten*) at Northwestern (5-4-2, 0-2 Big Ten*)
Evanston, Ill. < lakeside="">
ROAD SWING CONTINUES CONFERENCE SEASON... No. 11 Penn State (7-2-1, 1-0 Big Ten) hits the road for a Big Ten double-dip at Wisconsin (3-5-1, 0-2 Big Ten) and Northwestern (5-4-2, 0-2 Big Ten) this weekend. The Nittany Lions meet the Badgers and former head coach Paula Wilkins on Friday, Oct. 6, at 8 p.m. ET before taking on the Northwestern Wildcats on Sunday at 12 p.m. ET.
NEXT UP... The Nittany Lions return home in two weekends vs. Michigan State (7 p.m., Oct. 14) and Michigan (noon, Oct. 16).
SERIES HISTORY VS. WISCONSIN... Penn State looks to continue its dominance over Wisconsin as the Lions own a 13-1-3 all-time series record against the Badgers. Last year, Penn State shutout Wisconsin 3-0 at home. The first meeting between the two teams occurred in 1994 when the Lions traveled to Madison and won a 3-0 match over No. 8-ranked Wisconsin.
SERIES HISTORY VS. NORTHWESTERN... The Nittany Lions currently lead the all-time series with Northwestern 12-2-0. The two met twice last year with Penn State capturing a 2-1 regular season victory that was the Nittany Lions' 100th Big Ten win in program history and clinched title No. 9 for Penn State before a 3-2 victory during the first round of the Big Ten Tournament held at University Park. PSU first played the Wildcats in a 1994 home game with the Nittany Lions winning 1-0 .
LAST WEEK RECAP: PSU DOWNS ILLINI, 2-1, IN BIG TEN OPENER... The last team to open the Big Ten season this year due to playing travel partner-less Illinois the first weekend, Penn State started its conference title defense with a 2-1 win over the Fighting Illini on the Big Ten Network. Sophomore Katie Schoepfer (Waterford, Conn.) scored the PSU's first goal of the day, and nearly had another one a few minutes later when she sent one off the post. Freshman Danielle Toney (Northville, Mich.) used her second career goal for the gamewinner over 2006 Big Ten runner-up Illinois. The Nittany Lions are the nine-time defending conference champions, the second-longest streak in Big Ten women's championship history and the longest current streak in the country. TOP DRAWER SOCCER HONORS COME SCHOEPFER'S WAY... After an explosive performance this past week, sophomore striker Katie Schoepfer has been named to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the week. Schoepfer continued her offensive onslaught, scoring two goals in the Nittany Lions' mid-week game with Colgate and followed it up with Penn State's first goal of the day vs. Illinois helping to bring in the squad its first conference win. She also earned Penn Satte Female Student-Athlete of the Week.
SCHOEPFER'S SCORING STRING... The first goal of the day vs. Illinois moved striker Katie Schoepfer's scoring streak to six-straight games, dating back to the James Madison game on Sept. 14. Coming home was a good thing for the sophomore, as she had been scoreless through the Nittany Lions' first four games before the home opener at Jeffrey Field. Schoepfer's streak started when she 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 Sept. 16. On Sept. 19, Schoepfer made it three straight games with the goal of consequence, netting the game-winner off an assist from Ashley Myers (Bel Air, Md.) early in the second half. She added an assist at Notre Dame on Penn State's first goal by Myers, marking the fourth straight game that the sophomore has been involved in either the game-winning or game-tying goal. Her two goals vs. Colgate made it five games in a row with at least a point, tying her longest collegiate scoring streak, which she set last year between Sept. 22 and Oct. 6. She broke her personal record with the first goal of PSU's 2-1 win over Illinois on Sept. 30.
ON THE STRENGTH OF FOUR-STRAIGHT WINS, PSU JUMPS IN THE POLLS AGAIN... Ranked as high as No. 8 by Soccer America, Penn State gained several spots in each poll again this week after posting a 5-0-1 record over the last five games, including four-straight wins leading into this weekend. Three polls, the NSCAA poll, the Soccer Buzz census, and the Soccer Times poll moved the Nittany Lions up from 13 to 11. Soccer America has Penn State eighth, up from No. 11 last week.
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. Now carrying a career record 47-30-4, 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.
PENN STATE PICKED TO FINISH FIRST IN THE BIG TEN... The Nittany Lions have been picked by the coaches to finish at the top of the conference this year. A 2007 championship would mark PSU's 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.
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 the 25 years of Big Ten women's championships. LONGEST BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP STREAKS
12, Michigan Swimming & Diving (1987-98)
9, Penn State Women's Soccer (1998-Pres.)
9, Indiana Tennis (1987-95)
9, Northwestern Tennis (1999-Pres.)
RANKED TEAMS LITTER EARLY-SEASON SCHEDULE... Last Sunday's game vs. Illinois marked the sixth game in 10 outings vs. a team that is ranked or receving votes in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Poll (NSCAA). A win vs. the Illini brought PSU to 3-2-1 vs. ranked opponents in 2007, including two road wins against Top 25 teams. The only two losses have also come on the road.
ADEN-BUIE NOMINATED FOR LOWE'S SENIOR CLASS AWARD... Senior tri-captain Aubrey Aden-Buie, a standout on the Penn State women's soccer team, has been selected as one of 20 candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award was designed to honor the attributes of seniors who remain committed to their university and elect to pursue the many rewards that a senior season can bring.
WALSH'S WEEKLY PODCAST... Erica Walsh's podcast is in full swing and available weekly on GoPSUsports.com. For the remainder of the Nittany Lions' 2007 season, check back weekly each Monday (Tuesday the week of Oct. 8) 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.
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.).
GOALKEEPER NAEHER PICKS UP MULTIPLE HONORS... Sophomore Alyssa Naeher (Seymour, Conn.) was named this week's Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after the wins over Bucknell and at Notre Dame on Sept. 19 and Sept. 23, picking the sophomore up the first Big Ten weekly honor of her career. The Connecticut-native was also named to Soccer America's Team of the Week and earned Penn State Female Student-Athlete of the Week. Naeher was the key to the No. 17 Nittany Lions' first undefeated week this year. The preseason All-American turned in another pair of outstanding performances, including weathering 24 shots vs. 2006 national runner-up Notre Dame in the Nittany Lions' 2-1 victory.
COLGATE SECOND GAME OF 2007 WITH FIVE OR MORE GOALS FOR PSU... The Colgate match on Sept. 26 was the second match in as many weeks that saw Penn State score five goals. Freshman Danielle Toney's first career goal gave the Nittany Lions their second five-goal outing in three games, and their first winning decision by five or more goals since a 6-0 win over Bucknell in the 2005 NCAA Tournament.
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 Sept. 19, pouring on five goals in the final 45 minutes. The five goals marked the first game with five or more goals for the Nittany Lions since their 5-2 victory over West Virginia on Nov. 13 during the 2005 NCAA Tournament. The last time PSU 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 got her two goals late last 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 GARNERS NATIONAL, CONFERENCE AND UNIVERSITY HONORS... After the game-winning goal vs. JMU and the game-tying conversion vs. No. 5 Texas A&M on Sept. 14 and 16, sophomore forward Katie Schoepfer earned Soccer America National Team of the Week, Soccer Buzz Elite Team of the Week Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week and Penn State Female Student-Athlete of the Week.
SOPHOMORE'S GOAL VS. TEXAS A&M NAMED "GOAL OF THE WEEK"... 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.