Sept. 18, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's soccer team will tackle James Madison at 1:00 p.m. on Jeffrey Field this Sunday. The Nittany Lions (3-4) are 10-4-1 all-time against the Dukes (4-3). Sunday is Camp Day, as all Penn State Women's Soccer Camp alumni are welcomed back to Happy Valley for the match.
James Madison Dukes
(4-3-0; 0-0-0 Colonial)
at
Penn State Nittany Lions
(3-4-0; 0-0-0 Big Ten)
Game #8: September 20, 2009 • 1:00 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. JMU: Penn State leads, 10-4-1
LAST MEETING: 9/18/08, JMU 1-0 (Harrisonburg, Va.)
NEXT GAME: 9/23 at Bucknell, 7:00 p.m.
GAME STORIES
• The Nittany Lions and Dukes renew Penn State's original rivalry; the 16th meeting is the most for a non-Big Ten foe
• PSU looks to string two wins together for the first time in 2009
• Danielle Toney's notched her first two-goal game vs. BU since 2007; Leads the team with five goals and two game-winners
• Penn State broke a 220-minute scoreless streak when Toney recorded a 29th minute goal vs. BU. PSU is 17-2-1 when Toney scores all-time.
• The shutout over BU was the first since a 1-0 win against UVa on 8/21
GAME NOTES
LAST TIME OUT: The then-No. 24/23 Penn State offense exploded for three goals over unranked Boston University to snap a three-game losing streak.  The 3-0 win also broke a 220-minute goalless streak, the longest since a nearly 400-minute goalless streak in 1995. Danielle Toney supplied the firepower with two goals and Maddy Evans notched her first collegiate tally. Nikki Watts added two assists, while Katie Schoepfer and Christine Nairn tallied each tallied a helper. Alyssa Naeher made five saves to hold the Terriers at bay in the first half.
SCOUTING THE DUKES: James Madison enters Jeffrey Field with a 4-3 record after a 1-1 weekend at Navy and No. 18 Maryland. The Dukes defeated Navy 3-1 in Annapolis before capitulating 1-0 in College Park to the Terripans. JMU is led up front by Corky Julien who has a team-high eight goals and has accounted for 34 of the team's 119 shots. Julien has three game-winners to go with her 16 points. Teammate Catie Tisinger is second on the team with seven points (2G, 3A) while Teresa Rynier supplies the offense's passes, notching six points with no goals. In net, Dian Wszalek has played in 610 of the team's 630 minutes, amassing 28 saves (.737 save percentage) with one shut out and a 1.48 goals-against average.
OFFENSIVE DUKES: James Madison has seen a lot of goals in the young season. The number is 3.43, that's goals per game between the two teams for James Madison and its opponents. The Dukes have scores at a clip of 2.0 goals/game while allowing 1.43 a game. Even more staggering is the shot differential, which is 58 (+8.28) in favor of JMU. Teams are scoring almost a goal and a half on just 8.7 shots per game, while the Dukes need 17 shots per game to tally their pair. JMU is 1-2 on the road this season with both losses coming in shutout fashion.
THREE LOSSES IN A ROW: The Nittany Lions dropped a tough 1-0 loss to No. 8 Wake Forest when Jill Hutchinson scored in the 42nd minute. Alyssa Naeher kept Penn State in the game with six saves. Penn State dropped its two games the weekend before at Florida State (2-1) and Rutgers (1-0) at home. The Nittany Lions were led by Alyssa Naeher who made eight saves in the two games. Danielle Toney scored the lone goal vs. Florida State, assists were made by Katie Schoepfer and Christine Nairn.
LOSING STREAK OVER: The Nittany Lions went on a three-game losing streak for the first time since the 1995 team lost four-in-a-row. This is the farthest into the season Penn State has been below .500 since 2006 when the Nittany Lions started 1-2-2.
BACK-TO-BACK SHUTOUTS: Penn State was blanked by Rutgers, 1-0, on Sunday. It was the first time PSU was shutout since a 1-0 loss to Ohio State on Oct. 31, 2008. The shutout breaks a streak of eight-straight games with a goal. The 1-0 loss to Wake Forest extended the goalless streak to 190 minutes for Penn State. It was the first time the Nittany Lions suffered back-to-back shutouts since 1999 when PSU lost to Florida, 1-0, and tied Michigan, 0-0.
UCONN COMEBACK: Penn State needed a little late-game magic to pull off its second win of the year over UConn, 3-2, on August 31. The Huskies maintained a 2-1 lead through 75 minutes, despite being out-shot, 30-6. Nikki Watts keyed the comeback win with a goal and an assist and Christine Nairn provided the game-winner with a header for her first collegiate goal in the 79th minute. Danielle Toney's 16th minute goal was her second of the year.
TONEY SCORES, PSU WINS: Danielle Toney accounted for the four game-winning goals before the UConn game. Penn State is 17-2-1 (.875) all-time when Toney records a goal, but just 20-13-1 (.603) when she doesn't.
WVU UPSET: The then-No. 8/5 Penn State women's soccer team fell to then-No. 14/17 West Virginia, 2-1, on Aug. 29 at Jeffrey Field. Katie Schoepfer made a clever cut to her left foot and snuck the ball into the right-side of the net past Kerri Butler (five saves) for the equalizer just over 12 minutes from the half-time whistle, but WVU prevailed on a 58th minute strike. Alyssa Naeher made three saves.
OPENING NIGHT WIN: 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.
MONTHLY WINS: September has been Penn State's most successful month historically. The Nittany Lions have won 103 games, but dropped just 22 contests in 15-plus years. PSU has seven games in September, two at home. So far, the Lions are 1-3. Penn State went 2-1 in August.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
LIONS BACK IN THE RANKINGS: After falling Âout of the final rankings for the first time since 1994, Penn State was tabbed 12th in the NSCAA Coaches' Poll on August 12. After highs of 8th (NSCAA) and 5th (SA), PSU has dropped out of both. The team has played one of the toughest schedules in the country with 10 teams ranked in either the NSCAA or Soccer America polls.
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).
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.
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. Evans' five goals earned her the the Golden Boot Award.
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.
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.
SCHOEPFER HAS CLASS: Katie Schoepfer was named as a Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Candidate in August. The list, which features 30 women's soccer student-athletes, will be whittled down to 10 midway through the season. Those names will be put on the official ballot fans can vote on, the CLASS Award winner will be announced during the NCAA College Cup in December. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
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.
NEXT WEEK: The Nittany Lions travel to Bucknell (Sept. 23) for their final non-conference game of the season at 7:00 p.m. in Lewisburg. A road trip to East Lansing, Mich. kicks off the Big Ten slate at Michigan State (Sept. 27) on the Big Ten Network. Game time is slated for noon as the game will be broadcast live.
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--NITTANY LIONS--