Nov. 14, 2007
NCAA Final Four Notes/Guide (pdf)
Host Maryland's NCAA Final Four Page
Char Morett's weekly podcast (mp3)
University Park, Pa. - After knocking off two-time defending national champion Maryland on its home field to get there, the Penn State field hockey team will return to College Park, Md. this weekend to appear in its seventh NCAA Final Four in school history. Penn State, the only unseeded team to make the final four after knocking off the second-seeded Terrapins, will take on Wake Forest, the third seed in the national semifinals on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
The other semifinal between North Carolina, the top seed and fourth-seeded Connecticut, will be at 5:00 p.m. Both national semifinals can be seen on a free live webcast available on ncaasports.com. The championship game on Sunday is scheduled for a noon start and will be televised live on CSTV. A link to the live webcast can also be found on host Maryland's final four page at umterps.com.
Penn State's last appearance in the final four came in 2002 in Louisville, Ky. The Nittany Lions upset Old Dominion in the semifinals that year before falling to Wake Forest by a 2-0 score in the championship game. That game marked the last time the Nittany Lions played the Demon Deacons. Wake Forest holds a 3-0 advantage in the all-time series and the Deacons are the only school that Penn State has played in program history that it does not have at least one win against.
Something will have to give in Friday's second semifinal. Wake won its first two games in the NCAA Tournament over Big Ten teams Michigan State and Michigan in a regional that was played in Ann Arbor, Mich. Penn State, meanwhile, won its first two games in the NCAA Tournament over ACC teams Virginia and Maryland in a regional that was played in College Park, Md.
Penn State will be playing at least its eighth straight NCAA Tournament game in College Park. The Nittany Lions played there in the first/second rounds in 2003, 2005, 2006 and this year and have played their last seven games there.
Following Friday's semifinal game, the Nittany Lion Club and the Varsity 'S' Club are sponsorship an Alumnae Social at the team hotel, the Marriott Inn and Conference Center from 9:30 - 11:30 p.m. More information on this event can be found here.
A Penn State fan White Out is also being planned for Friday's game. All fans planning to attend the game are being encouraged to wear white.