Sept. 25, 2008
Indiana/No. 4 Portland Game Notes
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 22 Nittany Lions open up the Big Ten with a 5-4 record after a loss to No. 1 Notre Dame while Indiana brings a 5-4 record of their own after an overtime win over Loyola Chicago. Penn State has lost its last two games and is looking to start conference competition on the right foot . The Nittany Lions are on a quest to win their eleventh straight conference championship. Live stats will be available in the multimedia link at www.iuhoosiers.com
A DECADE OF DOMINANCE
The Nittany Lions have won 10-straight Big Ten titles dating back to the 1998 season. Over that same span they have only lost six Big Ten games going 89-6-4 in conference play. They enter the 2008 season as favorites once again with hopes of attaining that 11th championship. The championship streak is tied for the second longest in Big Ten women's championship history with a current string of women's tennis championships at Northwestern. Michigan women's swimming & diving leads all-time with 12.
PENN STATE AND BIG TEN OPENERS
Penn State has never lost a Big Ten opener. They have won 13 kick-off contests since 1994 and only tied once. Five of these victories were over Indiana and three of those were shutouts.
The tie came in a double overtime stalemate with Michigan in 1999. It was in this year that the Nittany Lions captured their second Big Ten championship and advanced to the NCAA College Cup for the first time in program history.
LAST YEAR AGAINST INDIANA
Last year the Nittany Lions played the Hoosiers at the end of the Big Ten schedule and their 2-1 victory propelled them to one win away from their 10th consecutive conference championship.
Penn State hit the scoreboard first when redshirt-junior Sheree Gray (Toms River, N.J.) weaved through the center midfield and found Carly Bedesem (Holland, Pa.) on the left side. Bedesem crossed it into the box for a running Katie Schoepfer (Waterford, Conn.), who appeared to be wide open and made Indiana pay for it. The sophomore striker took the shot over the Indiana goalkeeper Lauren Hollandsworth's head into the upper center of the net for the 1-0 Penn State lead at the 48:54 mark.
Indiana capitalized on a breakdown in the Penn State end during the 56th minute. After defensive miscommunication, Lindsay McCarthy was able to create an opening and score her fourth goal of the season to tie the game at 1-1.
Penn State took the lead for the second time when Schoepfer found the back of the net for her second goal of the day in the 69th minute. Schoepfer sent the roller to the left side of the net from the center of the box just beyond the outstretched hands of a diving Hollandsworth, who appeared to pull back on the save attempt. Seniors Aubrey Aden-Buie (Allentown, Pa.) and Bedesem assisted on what became the game-winning goal in the 2-1 victory.
2008 PENN STATE VS. INDIANA
Penn State and Indiana will enter Yeagley Field at Armstrong Stadium with equal 5-4 records on the season. In their first Big Ten contest of the 2008 campaign both teams are expected to come out fighting for every shot to get conference play off on the right foot. Although both teams have a long way to go, the winner of Friday's game won't have to face an up hill climb next week.
The Nittany Lions and the Hoosiers appear to be evenly matched heading into the game. Indiana has 19 goals on the season compared to Penn State's 16, but PSU has put up 155 shots as opposed to 131 by the Hoosiers. Indiana averages 2.11 goals per game while Penn State notches 1.78.
Liz Holby leads the Hoosiers in goals on the season at four while Chloe McKay, Devon Beach and Kelly Lawrence follow her at three each. Danielle Toney, Katie Schoepfer and Nikki Watts are the top scorers for the Nittany Lions at four goals each.
Net minder Alyssa Naeher has tallied 44 saves for Penn State with a 1.42 goals against average while Indiana's Lauren Hollandsworth has collected 20 saves with a 2.13 goals against average.
Friday marks the 18th meeting of Penn State and Indiana. The Nittany Lions lead the series 15-1-1.
NAEHER HEADS TO FLORIDA TO TRAIN WITH THE U.S. U-20 WORLD CUP TEAM
After training this past spring and summer with the U.S. Under-20 Women's National Team, All-American goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher has been named to the squad that will compete for the World Cup.
Naeher is one of 21 athletes across the country that have been called to Sunrise, Fla. this week for the first of two training camps before final selections on the World Cup roster.
The U.S. has been drawn into Group B of the 2008 FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Chile alongside France, Argentina and China. The team will open against France on Nov. 19 before facing Argentina on Nov. 22, with both games taking place at the Estadio Nelson Oyarzun in Chillan. The team will then travel to Estadio German Becker in Temuco to conclude group play against China.
Although Naeher will miss the Big Ten opener with Indiana she will be back for the Portland match on Sunday.
NITTANY LIONS TO HOLD PINK ZONE EVENT THIS SUNDAY
At the Portland game this Sunday, the women's soccer program is teaming up with the Women's Basketball Coaches Association to raise breast cancer awareness.
The WBCA founded Think Pink, now known as Pink Zone, in 2007 as an initiative to raise breast cancer awareness in women's basketball, on campuses and in communities. In 2007, more than 120 schools unified for this effort and helped make the inaugural year a success. In 2008, over 1,200 teams and organizations participated, reaching over 830,000 fans and raising over $930,000 for breast cancer awareness and research.
Now the program is spreading beyond the basketball court and Penn State has joined the effort on the soccer field. The first 200 fans to Sunday's game against Portland will get a free T-shirt and donations will be accepted throughout the game to benefit breast cancer research.