Sept. 19, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - After a grueling schedule that featured four out of five games against Top Ten opponents, the Penn State field hockey team will take on two unranked teams this weekend. On Friday, the Nittany Lions will host 0-6 Georgetown at 6 p.m. on the Field Hockey Field. Two days later, No. 13 Penn State travel to West Chester for the second consecutive week to take on the Golden Rams. Last Saturday, the Nittany Lions lost 4-0 to No. 5 North Carolina in West Chester, Pa.
The Series vs. Georgetown
This is the first ever meeting between the Hoyas and the Nittany Lions.
The Series vs. West Chester
Penn State leads the all-time series with West Chester 30-15-2. The Nittany Lions have won the past 20 meetings and 27 of the past 28. West Chester's last win in the series came in the 1988 NCAA Playoffs when the Golden Rams defeated Penn State 3-1 in triple overtime. The Nittany Lions defeated West Chester 2-0 in the 1987 playoffs.
This will be the 43rd straight year that the Nittany Lions and Golfen Rams have met on the field hockey field, the current longest-running series for Penn State. The teams have played every year in Penn State's program history except for the first year, 1964. Most of West Chester's wins in the series came early on, as it won 12 of the first 14 meetings from 1965-1977.
Penn State Falls to No. 13 in Poll
In the latest NFCHA poll, released Tuesday, Penn State dropped two spots from No. 11 to No. 13 after falling 4-0 to No. 5 North Carolina. Georgetown and West Chester are unranked.
Scouting the Hoyas
- Georgetown is 0-6 so far this season. It was 2-15 and winless in the Big East last season.
- Micaela O'Toole leads the Hoyas with five points (two goals, one assist). Maggie Farrand has one goal and 16 shots on the season.
- Georgetown and Penn State share four common opponents in 2008. The Hoyas and Lions were shut out by reigning national champion No. 5 North Carolina by 11 and four goals, respectively. Georgetown lost to Big Ten foe Northwestern 3-0. They also face No. 4 Connecticut, which Penn State lost 1-0 to, and Bucknell.
- Georgetown has more freshmen than returning players. The Hoyas have just three seniors, one junior, three sophomores and eight freshmen on their roster.
- Six starters and 13 letterwinners did not return from last year's Hoyas team.
- Before its loss to Northwestern, Georgetown has no lost to a Big Ten opponent in school history, defeating Indiana in 2002 and Michigan in 1991.
- Head coach Tiffany Marsh and assistant Emily Beach were teammates for Maryland's 2005 National Championship squad.
- Maggie Farrand is the Hoyas' leading returning scorer with 17 points in 2007. Deirdre Crovo made 98 saves in 14 games last year. She gave up 69 goals for a 5.05 goals against average.
- The Hoyas own a talented team of young recruits. Kalli Kampos was the Illinois High School Association's Player of the Year award winner in 2007. Kap Coleman won three Illinois high school state championships. Lila Samperton and Hope Battista were both on last year's Washington Post All-Met team. Tracey Kentner was nominated for an ESPY for "Play of the Year" for a goal she scored for Providence Day (N.C.).
Scouting the Golden Rams
- West Chester is 3-2 on the season. While it is a Division II school in the PSAC for every other sport, the Golden Rams field hockey team is Division I and plays in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
- Common opponents include No. 5 North Carolina, which both teams were shut out to last weekend, Temple, Lock Haven and Lafayette.
- West Chester is without its top two scorers from last season. The Golden Rams' top returning player is Alex Swayze, who scored 12 goals in 2007. They have only one returning player on defense.
Two Field Hockey Games to be Televised
The Big Ten Network, in its second year of operation, will televise two of Penn State's field hockey games this season. It'll broadcast the Sept. 28 game against Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio. The Big Ten Network will come to University Park, Pa. on Oct. 10 to showcase the match-up against the Nittany Lions and No. 4 Iowa.
Sept. 1 Game Sets Attendance Mark
The Sept. 1 home-opening crowd of 794 set a field hockey attendance record at Penn State's Field Hockey Field. The attendance for the Maryland game eclipsed the mark of 770 set during last season's home opener against Connecticut. Penn State currently leads the Big Ten in home attendance.