Nov. 14, 2009
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.--The fourth-seeded and 16th-ranked Penn State women's soccer team searches for a berth into the NCAA Third Round on Sunday with a 1:00 p.m. match against Virginia. The second meeting of the year between the two teams will be staged at Jeffrey Field and streamed live through GoPSUsports.com All-Access.
The Nittany Lions (13-5-2) and Cavaliers (9-5-6) have become well acquainted in 2009 after a four-year hiatus in the heavily competitive series. Penn State defeated Virginia 1-0 in the season opener at Jeffrey Field on Aug. 21, back when the teams were ranked 12th and ninth, respectively in the NSCAA polls.
Since then, both teams have gone on a bit of a roller coaster but have more than steadied the ship in each of their cases and look for a berth into the Round of 16, which would provide a match against top-seeded UCLA or San Diego State.
Virginia Cavaliers
(9-5-6)
at
#16 Penn State Nittany Lions
(13-5-2)
Game #21: November 15, 2009 - 1:00 p.m. - Jeffrey Field - University Park, Pa.
GAME DAY
VENUE (CAPACITY): Jeffrey Field (5,000)
SURFACE: Grass
STREAMING COVERAGE: GoPSUsports.com All-Access
TALENT :Trevor Turner (pxp), Eric Reed (color)
SERIES RECORD VS. UVA :Penn State leads 5-1-0
LAST MEETING: Penn State 1-0, 8/21/09
NEXT GAME: If PSU, UCLA win, Fri. at UCLA, 10 p.m. ET; If PSU, San Diego State win, Sat. at Penn State, 1 p.m. ET
GAME STORIES
- Penn State hosts Virginia for the second time this year
- PSU will try to extend its unbeaten streak to 11 vs. Virginia on Sunday; winner moves on to face winner of top-seeded UCLA/San Diego State match
- Katie Schoepfer recorded her second hat trick of the season against Colgate
- PSU moved to 23-2-2 when Danielle Toney scores on Friday vs. Colgate
- The Nittany Lions hold a 290:46 shutout streak entering Sunday's game, while Virginia has been held scoreless for 229:24
GAME STORIES
LAST TIME OUT: Penn State made an emphatic statement in its opening game by pounding Colgate, 5-0, on Friday night at Jeffrey Field in the NCAA First Round.  The fourth-seeded Nittany Lions used a natural hat trick by Katie Schoepfer and goals from Danielle Toney and Jackie Molinda to power the offense. Melissa Hayes and Nikki Watts tallied a pair of assists while Jess Rosenbluth and Rachel Lamarre added helpers on the Molinda goal.  Alyssa Naeher made four key first-half stops to keep the Raiders scoreless.
SCOUTING THE CAVALIERS: The Virginia Cavaliers (9-5-6) enter Sunday's match after squeezing past St. John's on Friday night, 3-1 on penalty kicks after a scoreless 0-0 draw. Despite out-shooting the Red Storm by a 39-6 margin (11-2 in shots on goal), the Cavs relied on the brilliant goalkeeping of Chantel Jones to send the game to penalties. Jones made a breakaway stop in the first overtime on a Kaitlin Haas shot. In the shootout, Jones stopped shots by Jen Leaverton and Sarah McGrath, while Julia Roberts, Lindsey Miller and Kika Toulouse secured their advancement with three made spot kicks. Virginia has now been blanked in back-to-back games, including a scoreless 110 minutes against Boston College in the ACC Quarterfinals. The Cavaliers are riding a 229:24 scoreless streak dating back to a Lauren Alwine goal on Nov. 1 vs. Miami. Sinead Farrelly leads the attack with seven goals and 20 points, while Laren Alwine, too, has registered 20 with six goals and eight assists. Jess Rostedt is tied for the team lead with seven tallies. Jones has 10 solo shutouts with a 0.61 goals-against average and a .831 save percentage.
SERIES HISTORY: The Nittany Lions and Cavaliers have faced off six times in women's soccer, with Penn State holding a 5-1-0 mark, including 4-1-0 at Jeffrey Field.  The two squads met on opening day, Aug. 21, with the Nittany Lions securing a 1-0 win thanks to a seventh-minute tally by Danielle Toney. Virginia had much of the possession in the second half, but only registered one shot on goal in the half, while out-shooting the Lions 17-9 for the game. Jones made five saves, three of which came against Toney, to keep Penn State to just one goal. The two teams have faced each other once before in NCAA play, a 3-0 Penn State win in 2002 at Jeffrey Field.
NCAA TOURNAMENT: Penn State earned its 15th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament thanks to the automatic bid for winning the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions are 29-13-1 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and Penn State snapped a two-game losing streak on Friday vs. Colgate. The 5-0 margin of victory was the largest sin ce a 6-0 win over Bucknell in 2005. The Nittany Lions have three previous appearances in the Women's College Cup (1999, 2002, 2005) as well as eight quarterfinal appearances, the last coming in 2006.
OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER: Penn State is first in the Big Ten in scoring with 2.2 goals a game. Moreover, in Big Ten matches alone, Penn State out-scored its opponents, 26-8. The +18 goal differential was six better than any one else in the Conference play and PSU has a +28 goal differential overall this season, also tops among Big Ten sqads. Credit Katie Schoepfer for picking up her game, notching 13 goals in the past 11 matches. Schoepfer notched 31 of her 36 points since Sept. 27, while Danielle Toney and Christine Nairn have 20 and 16, respectively, in that time span. Virginia's offense has been staunch this season, allowing just 13 goals in 20 matches (0.65 goals allowed per game).
TONEY SCORES, PSU WINS: Danielle Toney accounted for the four game-winning goals before the UConn game, and was somewhat silent until Big Ten play. Toney exploded for two goals and two assists in wins over Northwestern and Iowa. She added another in the tie at Wisconsin and one more in the win over Illinois. She tallied the first goal of the game at Indiana, her 10th of the season and added two more against Purdue on Nov 1. Toney scored against Colgate to lift Penn Stateto 23-2-2 (.888) all-time when Toney records a goal, but just 24-15-1 (.613) when she doesn't. Toney is second on the team in goals (13) and points with 32.
SCORING DUO: Katie Schoepfer and Danielle Toney are atop the Big Ten with 36 and 32 points, respectively. Only four other squads in the country have a pair of teammates with at least 30 points or more.  The others: undefeated and #1 Stanford, #2 Portland, #5 Florida State and Charlotte.
--NITTANY LIONS--