Nov. 2, 2009
LONG BEACH, Calif./PARK RIDGE, Ill. - The awards keep piling up for the No. 25 Penn State women's soccer team after another successful weekend in Big Ten play. Junior forward Danielle Toney (Northville, Mich.) was named the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Player of the Week as well as the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week on Monday. Christine Nairn (Bowie, Md.) was tabbed Big Ten Freshman of the Week and Alyssa Naeher (Seymour, Conn.) the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for their performances against Indiana and Purdue.
Toney led the Nittany Lions to two straight wins, extending their eight-game unbeaten streak and keeping them atop the Big Ten standings in a tie for first with Ohio State. The Northville, Mich. native notched three goals for six points in two games including the game-winner against Purdue. She would later add an insurance goal against the Boilermakers. On Thursday, Toney opened the scoring against the Hoosiers where the Lions went on to win 2-1 in Bloomington, Ind.
Currently, Toney leads the conference in scoring with 12 goals and 30 points. More recently, Toney has notched 18 points in the past calendar month dating back to a three-point performance against Northwestern on Oct. 9.
This is the second time Toney has received the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week Award this season, the other being on Oct. 12. A Nittany Lion to be named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week the past four weeks as Katie Schoepfer (Waterford, Conn.) was the two-time holder previous to Toney.
Naeher won her fourth Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week award after another strong performance in between the pipes for Penn State. Naeher allowed just one goal, while making four saves in wins over Indiana and Purdue. She lowered her overall mark this season to a 0.88 goals-against average and upped her save percentage to .832. Her record is 11-5-2 this season and she's been apart of all nine shutouts this year for the Lions, as she has started every game.
Nairn garnered Big Ten Freshman of the Week accolades for her game-winning goal against Indiana on Thursday night and her three-assist performance against Purdue on Sunday. Nairn leads the conference with nine helpers and her three against Purdue were the most since a three-assist effort by Melissa Hayes on Sept. 19, 2007 vs. Bucknell. Nairn garnered the freshman weekly award earlier this year on Oct. 5.
Nittany Lions Inch Up to 22nd Latest Soccer America Poll
OAKLAND, Calif. - Another bit of positive news for the Nittany Lions came when Soccer America released its top 25 poll this morning. Previously ranked 25th, Penn State moved up to 22nd. Co-Big Ten leaders Ohio State came in at 11th. The NSCAA poll, which has Penn State ranked 25th currently, will be released Tuesday afternoon.
Penn State (11-5-2, 7-1-1 Big Ten) currently sits in first place with rival Ohio State atop the Big Ten standings with one game to go for each side. A win on Sunday at Michigan (Noon) will give Penn State at least a share of the Big Ten title for the 12th-straight year.
Ohio State will play at Michigan State at 3:00 p.m. If both games have the same result and have the teams knotted in a tie atop the standings, Penn State will earn the Big Ten's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament by virtue of PSU's 2-1 win over the Buckeyes on Oct. 4.
For complete coverage of Penn State women's soccer, visit http://www.GoPSUsports.com/sports/w-soccer.
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--NITTANY LIONS--