Nov. 15, 2007
NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST AND SECOND ROUNDS
NOV. 16, 2007 < 5="" p.m.="">
No. 1 Penn State (16-3-2, 9-1 Big Ten) vs. Monmouth (12-4-4) University Park, Pa. < jeffrey="">
PSU EARNS NO. 1 SEED IN 13TH NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE... No. 1 seed Penn State (16-3-2) hosts NCAA newcomer Monmouth in women's soccer opening round action this Friday, Nov. 16, at 5 p.m. Also in NCAA first round action at Jeffrey Field that night are the Big Ten's Ohio State and Hofstra, whose contests kicks-off at 7:30 p.m. The winners of those two games meet on Sunday, Nov. 18, at 1 p.m. at Jeffrey Field in NCAA second round action.
LAST GAME... Despite a dominating performance, Penn State stumbled with a 2-2 tie vs. Ohio State in its last outing in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. The Nittany Lions did not advance to the championships game after a 5-4 penalty kick deficit.
SERIES HISTORY VS. MONMOUTH... This is the first meeting between the two programs.
NITTANY LIONS' ALL-TIME NCAA TOURNAMENT RECORD... Penn State has a 26-11-1 (.697) all-time record in the NCAA Tournament. The Nittany Lions have earned a place in the quarterfinals eight of the past nine years and has three College Cup appearances in the program's 14-year history.
NAEHER GARNERS BIG TEN DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR; SIX NITTANY LIONS EARN ALL-BIG TEN... Six Nittany Lions earned all-Big Ten honors after helping their team to a 10th-straight conference title including sophomore goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher (Seymour, Conn.), who garnered Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Naeher is Penn State's 10th Big Ten Player of the Year (Offensive or Defensive) and is the Nittany Lions' first goalkeeper to be honored with conference Player of the Year recognition. Sophomores Naeher and striker Katie Schoepfer, as well as redshirt-junior midfielder Zoe Bouchelle (Cockeysville, Md.) were all named to the first team, while senior defender Denay Riley (Washingtonville, N.Y.), senior forward Aubrey Aden-Buie, and junior defender Jessie Davis (Fairfax, Va.) received second team honors. Penn State's six selections pushes its number of All-Big Ten picks to 65 in the 14-year history of the program. Additionally, Danielle Toney (Northville, Mich.) was also named to the all-freshman team. Bouchelle received the team's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
NITTANY LIONS' BIG TEN STREAK NOTEWORTHY... After clinching the 2007 Big Ten title on Nov. 2 at Ohio State, Penn State pushed its conference championship run to nine-straight. The streak is tied with Indiana women's tennis and Northwestern women's tennis for the second-longest in the 26 years of Big Ten women's championships.
ADEN-BUIE, SCHOEPFER INCREDIBLE 1-2 PUNCH FOR PSU... Off to another successful year, Penn State has enjoyed the steady contributions of two elite strikers in senior Aubrey Aden-Buie and sophomore Katie Schoepfer. The Nittany Lions are 14-0-1 when at least one of the two scores a goal, but is 2-3 without a score from one of the pair. Schoepfer and Aden-Buie have 11 gamewinners between them, Schoepfer has six and Aden-Buie has five.
THE NEW JEFFREY STREAK... Penn State has played historically well at Jeffrey Field, and the Nittany Lions' current unbeaten streak stands at 22-0-1 over their last 23 games on their home field. PSU has gone undefeated at home since a 2-1 loss to West Virginia on Sept. 8, 2006. The Nittany Lions' record for consecutive wins is 40 stretching from Sept. 17, 2001-Nov. 12, 2004. Penn State is 135-9-5 (.923) all-time at Jeffrey Field.