Aug. 28, 2009
Game Notes • Penn State Invitational Central
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.--The No. 8/5 Penn State women's soccer team hosts the 4th Annual Penn State Invitational at Jeffrey Field beginning Saturday with a match between BYU and UConn at 5:00 p.m. Penn State takes on No. 14/17 West Virginia in the nightcap at 7:30 p.m.
The Nittany Lions (1-0-0) are looking to snap a three-game losing streak to the Mountaineers (0-0-1) in a match-up of top 20 teams. WVU opened its season with a 0-0 double-overtime draw with Ohio State on Sunday.
A win over West Virginia would give PSU wins over ranked opponents in back-to-back matchups for the first time since November 19/25, 2005 when the Nittany Lions beat No. 9 Texas A&M, 4-1, and No. 8 Santa Clara, 2-1, in the NCAA Tournament third and fourth rounds, respectively.
#14/17 West Virginia Mountaineers
(0-0-1; 0-0-0 Big East)
at
#8/5 Penn State Nittany Lions
(1-0-0; 0-0-0 Big Ten)
Game #2: August 29, 2009 • 7:30 p.m. • Jeffrey Field • University Park, Pa.
GAME DAY
VENUE (CAPACITY): Jeffrey Field (5,000)
SURFACE: Grass
AUDIO/VIDEO STREAMING: GoPSUsports.com Webcast
TALENT: Greg Boyce (pxp), Tom Ferguson (color)
SERIES RECORD VS. WVU: West Virginia leads, 3-2-0
LAST MEETING: 11/24/07; WVU 1-0
NEXT GAME: August 31 vs. Connecticut, 2:30 p.m.
GAME STORIES
• The Nittany Lions host the Penn State Invitational as BYU, West Virginia and Connecticut descend upon Happy Valley.
• Alyssa Naeher and Lexi Marton were named Big Ten Defensive Player and Freshman of the Week awards, respectively, on Monday.
• Danielle Toney scored the game-winner vs. Virginia and has scored in four of the last five games dating back to 11/6/08. Toney has scored the last four game-winners for Penn State.
• The Lions look to even the series with WVU to 3-3-0 with a win.
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time Series: WVU leads 3-2-0
PSU Streak: 3 losses
First Meeting: 10/26/03, PSU 4-1
Last Meeting: 11/24/07, WVU 1-0
Last PSU Win: 11/13/05, 5-2
Last WVU Win: 11/24/07, 1-0
Largest PSU Win: 5-2 (`05), 4-1 (`03)
Largest WVU Win: 5-2, 9/5/97
PSU Record at Jeffrey: 1-2-0
Coach Walsh vs. WVU: 0-2-0
Penn State will try to snap a three-game losing streek to the Mountaineers, a team the Nittany Lions haven't defeated since a 5-2 win in the 2005 NCAA Second Round...WVU was ranked No. 8 in 2003...Each of the last three times WVU has beaten PSU, it was an underdog; 2006: WVU (#17) vs. PSU (#7); 2007: # 23 vs. 15th; 2007: #12 vs. #6...Walsh seeks her first win over the Mountaineers.
GAME STORIES
LAST TIME OUT: Penn State beat then-No. 9 Virginia, improving to 5-1 all-time against UVa. Danielle Toney scored a seventh-minute goal on an end-to-end run off a Virginia corner kick. The marker came just minutes after hitting the post in the third minute. Toney's offense kept UVa off-balance, as three other changes from the junior went begging, as she was one-on-one in each of her chances. Alyssa Naeher made four saves, all in the first half, for the Lions to preseve the shut out.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS: West Virginia enters Friday's game against Penn State 0-0-1 after a scoreless double OT draw vs. Ohio State on Sunday. In an odd occurance, West Virginia failed to get a single shot on goal, Ohio State had just two. Leading the Mountaineers is All-American midfielder Carolyn Blank, one of the strongest all-around midfielders in the country.  Joining her on the attack is Megan Mischler, who returns to the team after missing the last eight games of the 2008 season with a broken fibula.  She was the team's scoring leader before her absence. In all, seven Mountaineers played the full 110 minutes vs. Ohio State. Also, seven Mountaineers were in the starting line up as freshmen or sophomores to assit Blank and Mischler.
PENN STATE INVITATIONAL: The Lions will host three teams for the annual Penn State Invitational, taking on West Virginia on Saturday, August 29.  A nemesis of Penn State's as of late, the Mountaineers hold a three-game winning streak over the Nittany Lions, all by one goal apiece. That game is set for 7:30 p.m. at Jeffrey Field.  The opening match of the tournament sees Brigham Young, ranked No. 19 in last year's final NSCAA poll, take on UConn at 5:00 p.m. On Monday, August 31, BYU and West Virginia play at noon, while UConn plays Penn State at 2:30 p.m.
NINE IN A ROW: Penn State has now won nine-straight home games when they're the season openers.  The shutout victory was the first season-opening home win since 2000, when the Lions beat George Mason, 3-0. Overall, Penn State improved to 14-2-0 in home openers.
FOUR STRAIGHT BY TONEY: Danielle Toney has accounted for the last four game-winning goals. Overall, Toney has found the back of the net in four of the last five games. Penn State is 15-1-1 all-time when Toney records a goal.
DECORATED LEADER: As if being a two-time First Team All-American and U-20 World Cup Champion wasn't enough, Alyssa Naeher added the title "captain" to her résumé. Naeher will serve as the team's lone captain during the 2009 campaign. Naeher was named the Golden Glove winner at the World Cup in Chile, leading the Americans to the championship.
ALL-BIG TEN RETURNERS: Penn State boasts a core group of returning All-Big Ten recipients from a year ago. Alyssa Naeher earned First Team accolades along with Katie Schoepfer. Meghan Gill was a Second Team honoree, while Emma Thomson returns as an All-Freshman mention. Danielle Toney came on late in the season in 2008, earning the Offensive MVP of the Big Ten Tournament.  Naeher was the Defensive MVP.
STELLAR SPRING: The PSU women's soccer team didn't slack off this spring going 7-0-1 in exhibition matches stateside. Of the eight games, four were against 2009 opponents. Penn State defeated West Virginia (3-1), Virginia (2-0) and Rutgers (1-0), while tying Bucknell (1-1). Other matches included wins over Villanova (2-0), Penn (2-0), Maryland (4-0) and Messiah (3-0).
LIONS BACK IN THE RANKINGS: After falling out of the final rankings for the first time since 1994, Penn State was tabbed 12th in the NSCAA Coaches' Poll on August 12 moving up to eighth on Tuesday, August 25. The Nittany Lions were also picked sixth in the preseason Soccer America rankings and have moved up to fifth since then. In the TopDrawerSoccer.com Tournament predictions, Penn State is tabbed 13th.
OS LEÕES DE NITTANY EM BRASIL: At the end of May, the Penn State squad embarked on a two-week trip to Brazil. All but four members of the squad, including recent graduates, made the trip the South American country known for its soccer. The Nittany Lions participated in three full-field exhibitions, a fustal tournament as well as a beach soccer tournament. The squad also got to venture about the country and see the sights and sounds of Brazil in the cities of São Paolo and Rio De Janeiro.
FIRST GOAL: Nine new freshmen join the Nittany Lion roster, many of whom are accomplished players above and beyond the high school level. One such newcomer, Christine Nairn, scored her first goal at the top international level with the U.S. National Senior Team in July. The freshman scored the lone goal in a 1-0 friendly win over Canada on July 22 in Charleston, S.C. It was Nairn's second cap with the full team.
MONTHLY WINS: Penn State has played just 18 games in the month of August during the team's 15-year history. The Lions are 11-6-1 all-time in August, five of those 10 wins have come since 2005. Penn State has three games on its schedule this month and are 1-0-0 so far.
| Month | Record | Pct. |
| September | 11-6-1 | .639 |
| September | 102-19-12 | .850 |
| October | 113-20-3 | .801 |
| November | 53-19-4 | .724 |
| December | 0-1-1 | .250 |
GOLDEN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: Two Nittany Lions, sophomore Krissy Tribbett and freshman Maddy Evans, won the U.S. Youth Championships with their respective club teams this summer. Tribbett's Colorado Nike Rush squad won the U-19 division, capturing its second consecutive title in double overtime. Evans' team, the FC Bucks Vipers, won the U-18 division, 1-0, on Evans' game-winner in the 52nd minute. In total, the freshman midfielder scored five goals at Nationals, earning the Golden Boot Award for the U-18s.
TROPHY CANDIDATES: Alyssa Naeher, Christine Nairn and Katie Schoepfer were named to the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy watch list on August 11. The trio represent the second straight time the Nittany Lions see three of their own on the preseason list.
PACK THE JEFF: Penn State athletics organized its biggest soccer promotion in history as the efforts to fill Jeffrey Field for the season opener vs. Virginia. The goal was to have fans be a part of the largest crowd in stadium history, which would mean having more than 3,208 spectators present, the record set in a 2006 match against UCLA. In the end, 3,098 fans came out to see the Lions beat the Cavaliers, the second-largest crowd ever.
GARCIA, GILL OUT FOR SEASON: Bri Garcia and Meghan Gill suffered season-ending injuries prior to the team's first game vs. Virginia. Garcia has been out since May with an ACL tear, while Gill is done for the season with an ACL and a meniscus tear, which happened during preseason training camp.
TOUGH SCHEDULE: The Nittany Lions will tackle 10 NCAA Tournament opponents from a year ago. In all, eight teams ranked in last year's final NSCAA poll are on the Lions' schedule. Five of those teams will visit Jeffrey Field, while one more, Brigham Young, will be in University Park for the Penn State Invitational, but won't play the Nittany Lions.
| Team | Site | Date | '08 | '09 | NCAAs |
| Virginia | H | 8/23 | #12 | #10 | 3rd |
| West Virginia | H | 8/31 | #14 | #14 | 2nd |
| Florida State | A | 9/4 | #6 | #5 | Quarters |
| Rutgers | H | 9/6 | #21 | #23 | 3rd |
| Wake Forest | N | 9/11 | #25 | RV | 2nd |
| Boston U. | N | 9/13 | - | - | 1st |
| James Madison | H | 9/20 | #T19 | - | 3rd |
| Michigan State | A | 9/27 | - | RV | 3rd |
| Minnesota | A | 10/16 | #15 | #17 | 3rd |
| Illinois | H | 10/25 | - | #13 | 3rd |
*-NSCAA Rankings (Aug. 25)
RULING THE ROOST: The Big Ten coaches' preseason predictions were released on Aug. 12 and Penn State was tabbed to claim its 12th-straight Big Ten title. Michigan State was No. 2 and Illinois No. 3.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Penn State Nittany Lions will take on the Connecticut Huskies on Monday at 2:30 p.m. It will be the second half of the doubleheader, which sees BYU and West Virginia square off at noon on Jeffrey Field.