Field Hockey Welcomes Ohio State on Friday for Big Ten Network ShowdownField Hockey Welcomes Ohio State on Friday for Big Ten Network Showdown

Field Hockey Welcomes Ohio State on Friday for Big Ten Network Showdown

Sept. 29, 2009

#18 Ohio State (7-3) at ORV Penn State (2-8)
Friday, October 2, 2009 • 4 p.m.
Penn State Field Hockey Complex, University Park, Pa.
TV: Big Ten Network HD Tape Delay (Leah Secondo & Karen Weaver)
Airtime: Sunday, Oct. 4 at 4 p.m. ET

• After playing seven of its first 10 games away from home, the Penn State field hockey team returns to the friendly confines on Friday to host rival Ohio State in a Big Ten Network clash. The game will be tape delayed and will air on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 4 p.m. Friday is the first of four straight home games leading up to a tilt at Iowa on Oct. 18, also on the Big Ten Network.
• A bevy of promotions will surround Friday's game as fans are encouraged to pack the Penn State Field Hockey Complex and wear blue for this nationally televised showdown. Penn State is having an outstanding showing at home games with a chance to lead the nation in attendance, so come show why! It is "Code Blue" with the first 125 students receiving a FREE T-Shirt and the first 100 non-students receiving a commemorative cinch backpack!
• The Lions look to regroup from Sunday's Big Ten opening loss at Michigan.
• The game will be aired nationally on the Big Ten Network via tape delay with Leah Secondo and Karen Weaver on the call. It will be a big weekend for Secondo, who will be inducted into the state of Connecticut Field Hockey Hall of Fame on Sunday, Oct. 4. She will join former Northwestern/UMass standout player Lisa Griswold as part of the 2009 induction class. Former Penn State star Becca Main Kohli was the last Big Ten inductee in 2008.
• As always, be sure to check the Penn State field hockey twitter page before, during and after the game to stay updated on the Nittany Lions.


Broadcast Information
• Friday marks the first of at least two televised games for Penn State this season.
• The Big Ten Semifinals and Championship Game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network as well.
• Last season, Penn State had two regular season games (at Ohio State and vs. Iowa) on the "BTN," same as this year, but only in opposite venues (home vs. Ohio State and at Iowa).

Important Parking Information
• Fans are reminded that all university parking regulations are in effect Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. You must have a valid university parking permit displayed to park in the surrounding lots. The following arrangements have been made for all visitors for field hockey games falling during regular business hours.
• Fans can park for an hourly rate in the east parking deck, located across from East Halls and accessed off of Bigler Road.
• Or fans can purchase a one-day visitor's permit valid for parking Lot 44, located on the east side of the Bryce Jordan Center and accessed off of Curtin Road.
• For more information, please visit the visitor's center on the other side of Beaver Stadium on Porter Road or call the parking office at 814-865-1436.

Field Hockey To Be Featured On Big Ten Network
• Not only are two Penn State field hockey games scheduled for the Big Ten Network, but a number of features will be run on the network as well, starting on Monday, Oct. 5 at 2:30 p.m.
• As part of the first episode of Penn State: Access Granted, redshirt sophomore Lauren Alloway and redshirt freshman Ayla Halus give fans an all-access tour of their facilities, plus a special trip to the Berkey Creamery!
• The show is scheduled to re-air on Oct. 8 (2 p.m.), Oct. 15 (1:30 a.m.), Oct. 20 (2 p.m.) and Oct. 28 (6:30 p.m.).

Bonenberger, Hoffsmith Featured On Big Ten Website
• Seniors Amy Bonenberger and Brooke Hoffsmith were recently featured on the Big Ten official website. The two have been teammates for eight consecutive years after suiting up together in high school. To read the article, please click here.

Rivalry Renewed
• Field hockey gets the distinction as the first of many Penn State/Ohio State showdowns set for the 2009-10 athletic season.
• After field hockey takes center stage, four additional fall sports play Ohio State: women's soccer hosts the Buckeyes this Sunday at Jeffrey Field, women's volleyball and men's soccer travel to Columbus (on Oct. 7 and Oct. 18, respectively) and football welcomes Ohio State on Nov. 7 at Beaver Stadium.
• Other notable PSU/OSU games are in men's basketball (road game on Feb. 3 and home contest on Feb. 24) and women's basketball (home game on Feb. 7).

Penn State In Big Ten Openers
• The Nittany Lions are an astonishing 15-2 all-time in Big Ten home openers since their first season in the conference in 1992.
• Penn State is looking for its eighth consecutive victory on Friday. The last home Big Ten opening loss came on Sept. 21, 2001, 2-1, to Ohio State.
• Friday marks the fifth time that the Buckeyes have been Penn State's first conference foe at home. The Lions are 3-1 all-time in the previous four contests.
• The teams also faced each other in Penn State's first-ever Big Ten conference game on Oct. 2, 1992, a 4-0 home win for the Lions.

High School Connection
• Three Palmyra (Pa.) High School alums (and former teammates) will be on display on Friday.
• Penn State seniors Amy Bonenberger and Brooke Hoffsmith have been teammates through high school and now college.
• Ohio State sophomore Jenn Sciulli is currently a sophomore and also played field hockey at Palmyra.
• Larry Watts from the BigTen.org recently featured Bonenberger and Hoffsmith and their days at Palmyra. To read the article, please click here.

What's Next
• Penn State remains home for an extended homestand that spans two weeks.
• It hosts a surging No. 14 Stanford on Monday.
• The Lions then welcomes No. 17 Northwestern next Friday (Oct. 9) at 6 p.m. and Pennsylvania rival Bucknell on Tuesday (Oct. 13).

Scouting Ohio State
• The Big Ten is one of the most impressive and balanced conferences in the nation with Ohio State being a key part.
• The Buckeyes have enjoyed an impressive start, entering the game with a 7-3 record.
• Ohio State's three losses have only been by a single goal to three nationally ranked teams. They lost to then-No. 12 James Madison, 1-0 in the season-opener while dropping back-to-back overtime heartbreakers vs. No. 3 Syracuse (3-2) and No. 7 Princeton (5-4).
• Ohio State's wins have come in dominating fashion with all but two victories coming by two goals or more. It has beaten Saint Louis (7-0), Ohio University (3-0), Kent State (5-2), Vermont (3-0), Central Michigan (1-0), Ball State (5-0) and Indiana (3-2).
• Leading the way on the offensive end is freshman phenom Berta Queralt, who has averaged nearly three points/game. She has 28 points (9g, 10a) while Jena Cacciatore is second with 21 (9g, 3a), Maria Briones has 16 (6g, 4a) and Aisling Coyle has 13 (4g, 5a). Five other players have one goal while Bri Doak has tallied an assist.
• In total, three different goalkeepers have seen time, led by Lindsay Quintiliani (598:18), posting a 0.94 GAA and .742 save percentage. Ally Tunitis has struggled as a backup with a .286 save percentage and 3.47 GAA in 100:55.

Sophomore Jessica Longstreth is tied for the team lead with two goals this year.


The Series With Ohio State
• The Buckeyes are Penn State's second most-played opponent all-time, only trailing West Chester.
• The teams have met 40 times with the Lions holding a controlling 30-8-2 advantage.
• The first game was played on Oct. 8, 1977, a 5-0 Penn State victory.
• Penn State did not lose any of the first 16 all-time meetings (14-0-2).
• The squads have met multiple times since Penn State's first season in the Big Ten in 1992, including three games in 1996. Big Ten foes played twice during the regular season in the early to mid `90's.
• Overall, the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes have played 29 times as fellow Big Ten schools with Penn State owning a 21-8 lead in those contests.
• They have met four times in the Big Ten Tournament, most recently last season when, in the semifinals, Ohio State upset the top seeded Nittany Lions in overtime. The squads have split those four meetings.

Impressive Opponents
• Penn State has played some of the top teams in the country and it shows when looking at their cumulative record.
• In total, the Lions' eight losses have come to teams with a combined record of 55-18 (75.3). Five teams have dominant marks, led by No. 1 Maryland (10-0), No. 4 Virginia (10-0), No. 5 Connecticut (9-0), No. 7 Princeton (7-1) and Lafayette (7-1).
• Penn State's two wins have come against Lock Haven (7-3) and West Chester (5-5) for an overall opponent record of 67-20 (.720 win percentage).
• Five of the losses have also come to top-10 squads. The Nittany Lions will still play another top 10 team this season in Michigan State.

First Field Hockey RPI Released
• The first NCAA field hockey RPI was released last week with Penn State coming in at 26.
• Six of the Nittany Lions' opponents are in the top ten and 11 in the top 25. Leading the way at No. 1 is Syracuse followed by Maryland while a surprise team, Stanford, checks in third. The Cardinal are 8-1 on the season and travel to Happy Valley for an Oct. 5 showdown.
• Virginia comes in at No. 5 followed by Michigan State (7), Connecticut (8) and Old Dominion (9). Princeton (11), Northwestern (14), Michigan (18), Indiana (22) and Iowa (23) are also among the top 25.

Shutting The Door
• Junior goalkeeper Ali Meves had a stellar performance against Princeton on Wednesday, Sept. 23.
• After allowing a goal on the Tigers' first shot, she stopped 14 of the next 16 sent her way for the most saves by a Penn State goalie since Jen Beaumont had 16 against Ohio State on Oct. 8, 2006.
• She's had a number of monster save performances to go along with her most recent career effort. The native of Lower Gwynedd, Pa. also made seven saves at Lafayette (9/16), eight vs. Lock Haven (9/4) and nine at Virginia (8/30).
• Meves then made four saves at Michigan (9/27) in her first-career start against a Big Ten foe.

A Big Draw
• Penn State field hockey has been a big draw early in 2009, averaging 442 fans at its games (including road and neutral site contests). In total, 4,425 have already seen the Lions just over halfway through the regular season schedule.
• That average of 442 is almost 200 more than the next "most-seen" Big Ten opponent, Michigan (265).
• Last season, the cumulative attendance at Penn State's 20 games was 5,223. At this pace, the Lions would surpass that figure right around Game 13 or 14 (vs. Northwestern or Bucknell) with more regular season contests and the postseason still to follow.

The Nation's Attendance Leader?
• Penn State has a realistic chance to lead the nation in average home attendance.
• The Nittany Lions have averaged 559 fans at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex, which is on pace to easily top last year's figure of 372, fourth best in the nation.
• They're also well on their way to Penn State's largest home attendance in program history. For perspective, the Lions averaged: 372 (2008), 406 (2007), 364 (2006), 318 (2005), 390 (2004), 293 (2003), 413 (2002) and 302 (2001).
• The Nittany Lions are by far the Big Ten's leader in home attendance, a full 129 ahead of Michigan in second place (430).
• The 559 fans for home games would shatter last season's national leader (North Carolina, 431) in average attendance.
• The Tar Heels are averaging 592 fans so far this season, only 33 more than the Lions. Penn State is also well ahead of Maryland, Michigan and Lock Haven, who all finished in the top five last year.

Senior Bethany Marvel had a season-high shot total on Sunday at Michigan.


More Attendance Tidbits
• Many fans stopped by the home opener vs. Lock Haven (Sept. 4) on their way to football eve, creating a buzz of an atmosphere.
• Then on Sunday, Sept. 6, (vs. No. 5 Connecticut), the third largest crowd in the history of the Penn State Field Hockey Complex (694) witnessed a thrilling game.
• The 694 fans only trail the 794 on Sept. 1, 2008 against Maryland and 770 on Sept. 2, 2007 versus Connecticut. Four of the top five crowds in the facility's history have come against the Huskies.
• The attendance total of 694 stands as the 23rd largest crowd in NCAA Regular Season history and 32nd largest in NCAA history.
• Sunday (Sept. 20) vs. West Chester saw another large crowd with the final total standing at 513.
• Fans can continue these attendance figures with six home games still remaining. With a strong showing the rest of the way, Penn State has a chance to lead the nation in attendance. COME BE A PART OF IT!

New Foe = New Conference
• After playing seven different conferences so far in the nonconference season, the Big Ten marks the eighth different conference that Penn State played this year.
• The Nittany Lions have faced teams from the Ivy League (Princeton), CAA (Old Dominion), ACC (Virginia, Maryland), NEC (Lock Haven), BIG EAST (Connecticut), Atlantic 10 (West Chester), and Patriot League (American, Lafayette).
• The Nittany Lions will still play the NorPac (Pacific, Stanford) in additional nonconference action. The tilt vs. Stanford is next up for Penn State.

Start Of A New Streak?
• Penn State split a pair of games against Pennsylvania foes this season.
• After the loss to Lafayette on Sept. 16 ended a 30-game winning streak against instrate foes, the Nittany Lions hope that the win over West Chester (on Sept. 20) will be the start of a new run.
• To put the streak into perspective, an astonishing 2,194 days (over six years) came in between losses to teams from the Keystone State.

Offensive Explosion
• The Nittany Lions had an offensive outburst on Sunday, Sept. 20, vs. West Chester which led to their second win of the season, both coming at home.
• Entering the game, the Lions had scored seven goals in the first seven games, but finished with five in a 5-0 rout.
• Only one of the seven goals had been in the first half, but they scored three in the first stanza on Sunday, including one only 4:03 into the game. That ended a scoreless drought of 222:22 in the first half of games. The only other first half goal prior to that had been in the season-opener at No. 16 Old Dominion.
• The Nittany Lions also had 29 shots, 22 on goal, the most since last Sept. 19 vs. Georgetown when they had a whopping 36 shots and 24 on goal.
• Junior Daneen Zug finished with a game-high seven shots (six on goal), mostly coming off penalty corners. She more than doubled her shot total in the game alone. She entered the day with six and finished with 13.

Déjà Vu?
• Penn State hopes that Sept. 20 will prove to be déjà vu to last season.
• One year and one day before the 5-0 win over West Chester, the Nittany Lions dominated Georgetown, 6-0. Both games were at home.
• That win propelled them to 10 wins in the next 11 games to put themselves in prime position for an NCAA Tournament berth.
• In both games, Christine Dudek had a part in two of the goals. On Sunday, she posted a goal and assist while she had a career-high two scores last year against the Hoyas.
• Both games also compared in the amount of relentless pressure by the Penn State offense. Along with the similar shot totals, the opposing goalkeepers finished with huge save totals - Georgetown's Deirdre Crovo had 18 and West Chester's Joelle Zarefoss finished with 17.

Redshirt senior Christine Dudek (2g, 3a) is three points away from her career-high.


Home Cooking
• In three home games thus far, Penn State has posted a 2-1 record, outscoring its opponents 9-3.
• They have also outshot their three foes, 56-27. On the contrary, the Lions have been outshot, 109-52, away from home.
• The first three home games have seen a different Lion player score her first-career goal. It started with Hannah Allison vs. Lock Haven (9/4) leading up to Casey McCartin (9/6) and Alex Schlener (9/20).
• The Nittany Lions are home five more times this season, including four straight in early October, starting with Ohio State on Oct. 2.

Balanced Attack
• Penn State has spread the wealth on the offensive end with five players (Hannah Allison, Amy Bonenberger, Christine Dudek, Jessica Longstreth & Casey McCartin) tied for the team lead with two goals apiece.
• Bonenberger, Dudek, Longstreth and McCartin all scored their second goals in Sunday's win over West Chester.

There's A First Time For Everything
• Three Nittany Lions have scored their first-career goals this season (Hannah Allison, Casey McCartin, Alex Schlener).
• Junior goalie Ali Meves had her first-career double digit save performance on Wednesday at Princeton.
• Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Ayla Halus picked up her first-career shutout on Sunday vs. West Chester. It was also Penn State's first shutout of the season.
• Halus made her first collegiate appearance in relief of Meves at Maryland on Sept. 12. She was strong, making seven saves in the final 45:46.
• Halus then made her first-career start the following day against American. She made six saves in that contest.
• Meves' first-career start came in the season-opener at Old Dominion (8/28). She entered the season having played in four career games, all in relief.
• Redshirt freshman Kristen Schaefer made her first-career start against American (9/13). She was one of six Lions to play all 70 minutes.
• Redshirt sophomore back Lauren Alloway recorded her first-career shot on Sunday vs. Michigan (9/27).

Feeling Generous
• Redshirt Senior Christine Dudek has tallied three assists through nine games this season after having none in the first three years of her playing career.
• After a scoreless freshman and sophomore year, she broke out with 10 points (five goals) last season.
• This year, she assisted on Hannah Allison's second goal vs. Lock Haven while setting up fellow senior Amy Bonenberger in the season-opener at then-No. 16 Old Dominion.
• Dudek then scored a goal at defending national champion and No. 1 Maryland. It came on only her second shot of the season with both coming in a span of nine seconds. The second shot found the back of the cage after a scramble in front of the goal.
• Most recently, Dudek tallied her third assist off Bonenberger's penalty corner goal on Sunday vs. West Chester (9/20).
• Her three assists lead the team while her three-point performance on Sunday also propelled her to the team-lead with seven points (2g, 3a).
• She has made the most of her shots with two goals on only five attempts.

Senior Gina Bartolacci has played in 10 games, including her first-career start.


Sharing The Workload
• Junior Ali Meves and redshirt freshman Ayla Halus have shared time in goal, with Halus recording 185:46 while Meves has played 515:52.
• Halus started her second game of the season (and career) on Sunday and earned her first-career shutout.
• Meves has gotten the starting nod the past two Wednesdays after Halus played the final 115:46 at the Terrapin Invitational. The junior keeper had 14 saves on Wednesday at Princeton and seven saves last week at Lafayette.
• This season marks the first time that two Penn State goalies have eclipsed 100 minutes since 2000 when Heidi Leuchte played 488 and current assistant coach Annie Zinkavich played 1,150.

Stroke Of Excellence
• Sophomore Jessica Longstreth found herself in a familiar position vs. American (9/13) when she took a second half penalty stroke.
• It was her second of the season (and career). She found the back of the cage for the first time after a failed attempt vs. Lock Haven (Sept. 4).
• Penn State had two penalty strokes last season, both from Allison Scola, and both goals.
• The most penalty stroke attempts this century was four in 2004, a mark that the Lions can realistically surpass this season.

Second Half Bunch
• The Lions have impressed in second half action this season with eight of their 12 goals coming in the final 35 minutes.
• Christine Dudek's goal vs. West Chester snapped a scoreless first half skid which reached 222:22. Prior to the marker, Penn State's previous six goals had come in the second half. Amy Bonenberger scored in the first half in the season-opener at No. 16 Old Dominion.
• Ironically, the trend was opposite last season, with nearly 66 percent of their goals (27 of 41) in the first half , 13 in the second and one in overtime.

Why Does My Shirt Have To Be "Red?"
• The Penn State field hockey team has a number of redshirts on its 2009 roster, led by four redshirt freshmen (Hannah Allison, Ayla Halus, Kristen Schaefer, Alex Schlener), a redshirt sophomore (Lauren Alloway) and two redshirt seniors (Christine Dudek, Jen Miller).
• The squad only includes two true freshmen, but when you add the redshirts, the freshmen become 38 percent of the team.
• In total, 7 of the 19 players have redshirted.

Fantastic Freshman
• Speaking of freshmen, one of those redshirts, Hannah Allison, had a performance to remember in the home opener vs. Lock Haven on Sept. 4.
• She had a hand in all of Penn State's goals, finishing with five points, the most by a Nittany Lion freshman since Brittney Long had that many on Sept. 18, 2005 vs. West Chester.
• Another freshman, Shaun Banta, also had five (2g, 1a) on Sept. 17, 2004 vs. Lafayette.
• Allison was the first Nittany Lion with five points in a half since yet another freshman, Kristen Miller, had two goals and an assist in the second half of a 12-1 home win over Saint Joseph's (Sept. 21, 2003). Current assistant coach Annie Zinkavich was the starting goalkeeper in that game.
• The five points were also the most for any Lion since Allison Scola last Oct. 19 at Northwestern.
• The last player to have more than five was current senior Bethany Marvel when she recorded a hat trick (six points) on Oct. 23, 2007 at Bucknell. In that game, her sixth point came only 1:50 into the second half.
• The performance earned her Penn State Student Athlete of the Week on Sept. 7, an honor she shared with senior football quarterback Daryll Clark.
• Overall, Allison is second on the team in scoring with five points and tied for the team lead with two goals.

Head coach Charlene Morett is one of the winningest field hockey coaches in NCAA history.


Coaches Who Know How To Win
• Penn State is playing some of the greatest coaches in NCAA history this season.
• The squad has already faced three of the top five winningest active coaches (all win totals as of the beginning of the season): Beth Anders (Old Dominion, 554), Nancy Stevens (Connecticut, 462) and Missy Meharg (367, Maryland).
• Current Lion coach Charlene Morett is fourth on that list with 389 career wins entering the season.
• All-time, Anders is first in NCAA Division I history with her 554 wins while Stevens is second, Morett is fourth, Meharg is fifth, Virginia's Michele Madison is 18th (250 wins) and West Chester's Kathy Krannebitter is 24th (212).
• In addition, Lock Haven's Pat Rudy had 459 wins entering the year, but she isn't yet eligible as a DI coach since Lock Haven recently moved to Division I.

Feeling Patriotic
• The most-played "non-conference" on Penn State's schedule this season is the Patriot League.
• The Lions lost to the league's preseason favorite, American University, 3-1 on Sept. 13. The Eagles were selected as preseason favorites for a seventh straight season.
• They then fell to Lafayette, ranked No. 2 in the preseason conference poll, 1-0 in overtime on Sept 16.
• Penn State looks for better luck against the Patriot League when it hosts Bucknell (predicted fourth) on Oct. 13.
• Even with the recent loss, Penn State is still an incredible 55-6-2 all-time against the Patriot League.
• The Lions have faced Bucknell the most (31-2-2 record) followed by Lafayette (14-2), Lehigh (8-0) and American (1-2).

The "Big" CC?
• Penn State could make a case to be an honorary member of the ACC due to the number of nonconference games against one of the top conferences in the country.
• This season is no different, with Virginia and Maryland, arguably the ACC's two best teams, on the slate.
• Over the previous two years (2007 and '08), Penn State played nine games against ACC squads, posting a 5-4 record. That included four straight games in 2007 as part of its magical run to the National Championship Game.
• All-time, Penn State has faced - Maryland (31 times), North Carolina (28), Virginia (16), Duke (5), Wake Forest (4) and Boston College (1).
• Ironically, Penn State head coach Charlene Morett began her head coaching career with a current ACC school, Boston College.

Starting Her 'Starting' Career With A Bang
• Junior goalkeeper Ali Meves had a strong first four starts of her career.
• Meves recorded her first-career win in the home opener vs. Lock Haven. She finished with eight big saves, including a number in the first half to keep the Lions close, allowing them to take a second half lead behind an offensive outburst.
• On Aug. 30, Meves made a then career-high nine saves on 10 shots to keep the Nittany Lions close against No. 6 Virginia.
• Meves and redshirt freshman Ayla Halus look to fill the hole left by departed All-American goalkeeper Jen Beaumont.

Tough Schedule On Tap
• The latest NFHCA Coaches Poll (Sept. 29) sees an incredible nine of Penn State's opponents among the Top-20: Maryland (1), Virginia (4), Connecticut (5), Princeton (7), Michigan State (8), Old Dominion (12), Stanford (14), Northwestern (17) and Ohio State (18). Additionally, Indiana, American, Michigan, Iowa and Lafayette are also receiving votes.
• Also on the docket are eight NCAA Tournament teams from 2008, including National Champion Maryland and National Semifinalist Iowa.
• The following squads made the final NFHCA Coaches Poll: Maryland (1), Connecticut (5), Iowa (6), Princeton (9), Michigan State (10), Virginia (12), Ohio State (14) and American (18). Lock Haven, Old Dominion, Stanford and Indiana all finished among "Others Receiving Votes."
• The Lions also face 10 from the preseason top-20 and five more who received votes. Only three teams - Lafayette, Pacific and West Chester - didn't garner votes.

Facing Defending National Champions
• As part of their challenging schedule, the Lions faced a defending national champion for the 21st time on Sept. 12 at Maryland.
• With the loss, Penn State is now 5-16 against defending champs, with the last win coming, 1-0, over the Terps on Nov. 11, 2007.

Only The Best...
• Along with facing the defending national champion and a number of ranked foes, the Nittany Lions also face four preseason conference favorites.
• In total, they face four who were predicted to win their respective conferences in their preseason polls: Old Dominion (CAA), Virginia (ACC), Lock Haven (NEC) and American (Patriot League).
• The Big Ten, NorPac and Ivy League don't have preseason polls. Otherwise, the number could be even more with Big Ten powers along with teams like Stanford and Princeton on the slate.

Lions Ranked 11th In Preseason NFHCA Poll
• Following a Big Ten Championship season, the Penn State field hockey began 2009 ranked No. 11 in the preseason Kookaburra/NFHCA Coaches Poll. The Nittany Lions, who concluded last season in the same position, have 10 opponents ranked in the top-20.
• In total, 10 of the Lions' 2009 opponents garnered a preseason national ranking, including six of the top nine: Maryland (1), Connecticut (5), Virginia (6), Princeton (7), Michigan State (8), Iowa (9), American (14), Old Dominion (16), Ohio State (18) and Michigan (19). Other opponents, Northwestern, Indiana, Lock Haven, Bucknell and Stanford all received votes as well.
• Five of the seven Big Ten squads were ranked in the top-20, second most of any conference behind the ACC. The other two teams - Indiana and Northwestern - received votes, effectively ranked 26th and 27th, respectively.

Streaks To Greatness
• The field hockey program has put together a number of impressive streaks both recently and looking back to its storied history. The Lions look to extend these streaks in 2009.
• With Penn State's nine game winning streak in 2008, the squad put together streaks of nine games or more in three of the previous four seasons (also 10 in 2006 and a school-record 17 in 2005). Ironically, the one season that it didn't put together a streak of that magnitude was in the National Finalist season in 2007 when the longest win streak "only" reached five.
• Entering 2009, the Nittany Lions have picked up double-figures in wins in an incredible 31 consecutive seasons, a streak that is still alive.
• Additionally, the Lions have never had a losing record under Morett. The worst season came in 2004 when they finished 10-10. Every other season of her storied career has consisted of a winning record.

Be sure to follow Penn State field hockey on Twitter! A popular feature is live in-game updates!


2009 Media Guide Now Available!
• The 2009 media guide is now available! In it, you can find everything you need to know about Penn State field hockey including stats, player bios, a complete history section and much more!
• Copies are available for only $5. They will be available at every home game and can also be purchased through the publications store on GoPSUsports.com. Click to order!

Sign Up For Penn State Field Hockey News
• Fans, want to stay up to date on the Penn State field hockey team? Sign up today by contacting Justin Lafleur (jal47@psu.edu) in the Penn State Athletic Communications Department. You will receive game previews, game recaps, news releases and more, straight to your inbox!

Follow Penn State Field Hockey On Twitter!
• Penn State field hockey is now on Twitter! You can find exclusive notes and features to help you stay one step ahead when following the Nittany Lions.
• Included will be live in-game scoring updates, so if you can't make it to Happy Valley, you'll still be able to follow all the action. Go to www.twitter.com and search for the username PennStateFH. Click here for a direct link.