Nov. 8, 2007
Complete Release in PDF Format
NOV. 8-11, 2007 < big="" ten="" tournament="">
No. 1 Penn State (15-3-1, 9-1 Big Ten) vs. No. 8 Iowa (8-7-4, 4-6-0 Big Ten)
University of Minnesota < elizabeth="" lyle="" robbie="">
TEN-TIME REIGNING BIG TEN CHAMPION PSU HEADS TO CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT... The No. 6 Nittany Lion women's soccer team travels to the Big Ten Tournament, hosted by Minnesota on Nov. 8-11. No. 1 seed Penn State (15-3-1, 9-1-0 Big Ten) begins tourney action with No. 8 seed Iowa (8-7-4, 4-6-0 Big Ten) at noon ET?on Thursday, Nov. 8. The winner of that match meets the winner of the No. 4 seed Indiana (12-5-2, 5-4-1 Big Ten) vs. No. 5 seed Ohio State (11-8-0, 5-5-0 Big Ten) contest. The semifinal game will be aired on the Big Ten Network on a tape-delay basis. The Big Ten championship game on Sunday will be aired on both the Big Ten Network and CSTV. Please check your cable/satellite listings for game times and channels. All games wil be available through livestats on the Gametrack PSU page.
The Nittany Lions are the defending Tournament champions after wins over Northwestern (3-2), Michigan (2-0) and Illinois (3-1) last year at Jeffrey Field. The 2006 Tournament title was the fourth in program history.
NEXT UP... The NCAA selection show will be broadcast live on ESPNews on Monday, Nov. 12 from 8-8:30 p.m. A PSU selection would be its 13th-straight in the program's 14-year history. Penn State has made the NCAA quarterfinals eight of the past nine years, including last season when they eventually lost in the round of eight at national runner-up Notre Dame. In the current NCAA RPI, Penn State is No. 1 again after a slip to No. 4 in the last rankings.
LAST GAME... The game-winning goal by Katie Schoepfer (Waterford, Conn.) vs. Ohio State last Friday iced the Nittany Lions' 10th-straight Big Ten championship. Penn State finished with a 9-1-0 conference record, losing only a 1-0 double overtime decision at Minnesota this year.
SERIES HISTORY VS. IOWA... Penn State looks to extend its unbeaten streak against Iowa as the all-time series record stands at 11-0. Earlier this season, Penn State beat Iowa 1-0 in Iowa City on a goal from Aubrey Aden-Buie (Allentown. Pa.), one of six gamewinners for the Nittany Lion striker. The first meeting between the two teams occurred in 1997 when Penn State won 2-0 on the road against Iowa.
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 13-0-1 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 10 gamewinners between them (five each).
OHIO STATE WIN MARKS NINTH SHUTOUT FOR PSU'S NATIONALLY-RANKED GOALKEEPER... Sophomore Alyssa Naeher (Seymour, Conn.) is continuing the Penn State tradition of strong goalkeeping and already has nine shutouts this year. A preseason All-American, Naeher has not disappointed in her second year as PSU's starter, compiling a .896 save percentage, which is fourth nationally, and a 0.52 goals against average, good enough for 14th in the country. The top goalkeeper in the conference, Naeher has limited Nittany Lion opponents to only 11 goals this season.
NAEHER GRABS SECOND BIG TEN WEEKLY HONOR... Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher grabbed her second player of the week honor from the Big Ten after shutting out the Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday en route to clinching its 10th-straight conference title. Naeher is Penn State's sixth Big Ten Player of the Week this year. Previously, sophomore Katie Schoepfer, redshirt-junior Zoe Bouchelle (Cockeysville, Md.) and sophomore Tara Davies (Cape May Court House, N.J.) each received recognition at least once.
RANKED TEAMS LITTER SCHEDULE... The Big Ten opener 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. The Nittany Lions robust early-season schedule helped them to the No. 1 spot in the first RPI rankings to come out this year. In the Oct. 22 RPI?survey, PSU was No. 4.
First team All-Big Ten selection Katie Schoepfer |
PENN STATE VS. RANKED OPPONENTS... Posting a 3-2-1 record this season vs. ranked teams, Penn State is now 55-32-9 (.620) all-time vs. opponents ranked in the NSCAA poll after the win over No. 4 Purdue. Wins over Illinois and Indiana, who had both been receiving votes at the time of those meetings, puts the Nittany Lions' record vs. teams ranked or receiving votes this year to 5-2-1. A complete list is on page 4 of this release. WALSH'S?WEEKLY PODCAST... Erica Walsh's podcast is in full swing and available weekly on Tuesday at GoPSUsports.com. For the remainder of the Nittany Lions' 2007 season, check back weekly each Tueday 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.
TRIO OF NITTANY LIONS EARN ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT HONORS... Three women's soccer players have been selected for academic honors as Penn State is off to another outstanding season. Senior Aubrey Aden-Buie and redshirt-junior Zoe Bouchelle were named first team ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District, while sophomore goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher earned second team honors as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America Thursday.
A double major in psychology and English, Aden-Buie has been one of Penn State's top scoring threats throughout her career, particularly over the past two years. The striker has nine goals and two assists this year for the Nittany Lions and has netted four game-winning goals. She currently has a 3.75 grade point average and is enrolled in Penn State's Schreyer Honors College.
A midfielder, Bouchelle has played solidly all fall for the Nittany Lions, but has stepped it up even more during the Big Ten schedule. All of Bouchelle's points have come in the conference season, including a six-point weekend vs. Michigan and Michigan State. Enrolled in Penn State's Schreyer Honors College, Bouchelle is an economics major with a 3.87 grade point average.
The Big Ten's toughest goalkeeper, Naeher has dominated in her second year as PSU's starter, posting a .896 save percentage (fourth nationally) and a 0.52 goals against average (14th in the country). She currently has a 3.39 in kinesiology.