Oct. 8, 2007
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Sophomore striker Katie Schoepfer (Waterford, Conn.) earned her second Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honor after extending her scoring streak to eight games with an assist at Wisconsin Friday and a goal and an assist at Northwestern Sunday.
Schoepfer started the Nittany Lions' two-win Big Ten weekend with an assist on PSU's insurance goal by Danielle Toney (Northville, Mich.) helping Penn State to the 2-0 victory. On Sunday, Schoepfer had the helper on Aubrey Aden-Buie's (Allentown, Pa.) second goal of the day, the gamewinner for the striker, and then gave the Nittany Lions a little extra padding by scoring the third goal in the 3-1 win in Evanston.
Her weekend points pushed Schoepfer's scoring streak to eight-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 had 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.
Nine-time defending Big Ten champion Penn State is 9-2-1 this year and was ranked 11th in the country last week by the NSCAA. Picked to finish first in the Big Ten in a preseason poll of the coaches, the Nittany Lions are 3-0 thus far in conference play.
The Nittany Lions host Michigan State and Michigan on Homecoming weekend in Happy Valley this Friday and Saturday. The Spartans come to town on Friday, Oct. 12, for a 7 p.m. match. A match-up with the Badgers is set for kick-off at noon on Sunday, Oct. 14, at noon.
--NITTANY LIONS--