Aug. 24, 2009
OAKLAND, Calif. - The Penn State women's soccer team climbed up the rankings one spot, to No. 5, in the latest national poll released by Soccer America on Monday. Also, starting freshman defender Lexi Marton, is featured on ESPN.com's College Sports front page story by Graham Hays.
The fifth-ranked Nittany Lions moved up one spot when UCLA fell from third to seventh after a 7-2 drubbing at North Carolina. UNC and Stanford hold the top two spots, followed by Portland, Notre Dame and Penn State.
Virginia fell from 11th to 14th, while this week's opponents West Virginia (17th) and Connecticut (21st) both moved down one spot, respectively.
Marton, a key cog in head coach Erica Walsh's backline along with two-time First Team All-American Alyssa Naeher, helped guide the Nittany Lions to the shutout victory over the Cavaliers.
"She's obviously a huge heading presence for us," Walsh said of the 5-foot-11 Canadian to Hays. "She organizes -- I mean to have a freshman back there who talks and organizes, you just don't find that very often. And because she has international experience, I think she feels comfortable doing it."
To read Graham Hays' Story go to http://espn.go.com/college-sports/ for the photo version, or click here for the main story.
The Nittany Lions will be back in action on Saturday when they face West Virginia at Jeffrey Field for the Penn State Invitational. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m., while Connecticut and Brigham Young open the proceedings at 5:00 p.m.
SOCCER AMERICA RANKINGS (Aug. 24)
RANK/TEAM (RECORD) LAST WEEK
1. North Carolina (1-0-0) 1
2. Stanford (1-0-0) 2
3. Portland (1-0-0) 4
4. Notre Dame (1-0-0) 5
5. Penn State (1-0-0) 6
6. Florida State (1-0-0) 7
7. UCLA (0-1-0) 3
8. Boston College (0-0-0) 8
9. Texas A&M (1-0-0) 9
10. Florida (1-0-0) 10
11. Missouri (1-0-0) 13
12. Duke (1-0-0) 14
13. Colorado (1-0-0) 17
14. Virginia (0-1-0) 11
15. USC (0-1-0) 12
16. California (1-0-0) 19
17. West Virginia (0-0-1) 16
18. Michigan State (0-0-0) 18
19. Washington State (1-0-0) 22
20. Illinois (1-0-0) 23
21. Connecticut (0-0-0) 20
22. Rutgers (0-0-0) 21
23. Santa Clara (2-0-0) NR
24. Minnesota (1-0-0) NR
25. Richmond (1-0-0) NR
25. Memphis (1-0-0) NR
For complete coverage of all the Nittany Lion women's soccer this season, go to www.GoPSUsports.com/sports/w-soccer.
Follow Penn State women's soccer on Twitter: @PSUWomensSoccer
--NITTANY LIONS--