Nov. 11, 2008
Complete bracket details of the 2008 Division I NCAA Tournament
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - A loss to No. 9 Princeton early in the 2008 season was the turning point in the No. 11 Penn State field hockey team's season. The Nittany Lions drew the Tigers during the NCAA Division I Field Hockey Selection Show and will face the Ivy League champions in the 16-team tournament on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Syracuse, N.Y.
The Big Ten regular season champions are in the same bracket as No. 3 Syracuse, which earned the third seed of the tournament and won the Big East regular- and post-season championships, and No. 17 Massachusetts. The Minutemen, the Atlantic 10 champions, defeated Kent State, 1-0, earlier today in the NCAA play-in game.
Penn State (13-6) and Princeton (16-2) faced off on Sept. 24 in University Park, Pa. The Tigers scored three goals in a 2:36 duration to secure the nonconference win. Daneen Zug scored both goals for the Nittany Lions in the 3-2 loss.
Two other Big Ten teams will be vying for the NCAA Final Four this year. Iowa claimed the No. 4 seed as it claimed the Big Ten Conference Tournament Sunday over Ohio State. The Hawkeyes are in the same bracket as Michigan State, which it defeated in overtime in Bloomington, Ind. this past weekend. Iowa will face Louisville, the hosts of this year's NCAA Championships, while the Spartans take on the reigning NCAA champions, North Carolina.
A pair of Atlantic Coast Conference teams is spotted Nos. 1 and 2 in this year's tournament. Maryland will be the top team going in, followed by Wake Forest.
Should Penn State defeat the Tigers, it will face the Orange or the Minutemen on Sunday at 2 p.m.