Nov. 4, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - CHAMPIONS ONCE AGAIN: PENN STATE HEADS TO CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT: The No. 21 Penn State women's soccer team just won its 11th consecutive Big Ten regular season championship and is looking for its fifth tournament title. Earning the No. 1 seed, the Nittany Lions (13-7, 8-2 Big Ten) will face No. 8 seed and host Iowa (9-10-1, 3-6-1 Big Ten) Thursday, Nov. 6 at 5 p.m. ET. The winner of that match will meet the winner of the No. 4 seed Michigan State (13-5-2, 5-4-1 Big Ten) vs. No. 5 seed Illinois (11-8, 5-5 Big Ten) contest.
The Big Ten Network will televise the 2008 Big Ten Women's Soccer Tournament, providing television coverage for the second consecutive season. The semifinals will be played Friday, Nov. 7, at 1 and 3:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast live by the network. The championship contest will kick off on Sunday, Nov. 9, at 2 p.m. CT with the Big Ten Network providing live coverage.
Last year the Nittany Lions fell to Ohio State in penalty kicks in the semifinal match.
NEXT UP: The NCAA selection show will be broadcast live on ESPNews on Monday, Nov. 10 at 8 p.m. A Penn State selection would be its 14th-straight in the program's 15-year history. Penn State has made the quarterfinals eight of the past 10 years. In the current NCAA RPI, Penn State is No. 13.
LAST GAME: Despite losing a tough-fought match to Ohio State, 1-0, the Nittany Lions had sealed their 11th consecutive Big Ten championship which they share with Minnesota. Penn State finished with an 8-2 conference record.
SERIES HISTORY VS. IOWA: Penn State looks to extend its unbeaten streak against Iowa as the all-time series record stands at 12-0. Earlier this season, Penn State beat Iowa 1-0 in overtime as Katie Schoepfer (Waterford, Conn.) fired a shot past the goal keeper 30 seconds into overtime. The first meeting between the two teams occured in 1997 when Penn State won 2-0 on the road against Iowa.