May 26, 2010
2010 Schedule
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.--Penn State women's soccer head coach Erica Walsh announced a challenging 19-game slate on Wednesday, which will feature nine home games and nine teams that reached the NCAA Tournament a year ago. The Nittany Lions, who finished the 2009 season ranked 23rd in the NSCAA poll after a second round NCAA Tournament run, opens its 2010 campaign at West Virginia on Aug. 20.
"Every year we attempt to play one of the toughest schedules in the country," Walsh said. Last season, PSU's schedule ranked fifth toughest in the NCAA. "And 2010 is not an exception."
The Nittany Lions will have a familiar feel to their schedule, as six of the nine non-conference games will be against opponents Penn State has faced in the last two years, beginning with the Mountaineers of West Virginia. The 7:00 p.m. Friday kick-off against WVU, an NCAA Second Round team in 2009, on Aug. 20 will be played at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium for Penn State's first visit to Morgantown since 2007.
PSU returns home to face Virginia on Aug. 27 in the second game of the Penn State Invitational at 7:30 p.m. The Nittany Lions and Cavaliers produced a pair of thrillers last season at Jeffrey Field as Penn State took the first matchup, 1-0, before Virginia took the second game in the NCAA Tournament. PSU holds a 5-2 all-time mark against UVa. William & Mary takes on Connecticut in the opening match slated to begin at 5:00 p.m.
The second day of the Penn State Invitational concludes on Sunday, Aug. 29 when UConn faces Virginia at Noon and PSU welcomes William & Mary to Jeffrey Field for a 2:30 p.m. showdown. William & Mary is the alma mater of Walsh and assistant coach Ann Cook. Walsh was inducted into W&M's Athletics Hall of Fame in March.
Penn State hits the road for four straight games with a two-game swing through the state of Connecticut to take on Yale (Friday, Sept. 3 at 7:00 p.m.) and UConn (Sunday, Sept. 5 at 1:00 p.m.). UConn reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament a year ago.
The following weekend the Nittany Lions fly to Oregon where they will take on Washington on Friday, Sept. 10 as part of the Nike Portland Invitational. On Sept. 12, perennial powerhouse Portland welcomes Penn State to its home field. The Pilots finished last season ranked fifth in the NSCAA poll after narrowly losing a 2-1 game at UCLA in the NCAA Quarterfinals. Washington, who was bounced by Portland in the 2009 NCAA Tournament, will play Penn State the first time since 2005 in the Nittany Lions' only neutral site game of the season.
"We are thrilled with the quality of our out-of-conference opponents," added Walsh. "We look forward to a chance to play out on the west coast this fall against two strong opponents in Portland and Washington."
PSU wraps up its non-conference slate with local rival Bucknell on Wednesday, Sept. 15 at 7:00 p.m. on the friendly confines of Jeffrey Field before hosting Dartmouth on Sunday, Sept. 19 at 1:00 p.m.
Penn State kicks off its Big Ten season with a home game against Michigan State on Sept. 26 at 1:00 p.m. as the Nittany Lions look to avenge a heartbreaking 3-2 loss in East Lansing last year. MSU was PSU's only loss last season in Big Ten play, reached the NCAA Tournament in heroic fashion despite losing key players down the stretch. Michigan State also provided a crucial win to Penn State's Big Ten championship cause as the Spartans defeated Ohio State, 1-0, in the final game of the regular season to secure PSU's claim on the 12th-straight Big Ten title.
"As far as conference play is concerned," said Walsh. "We will have our work cut out for us in October as the Big Ten continues to get more and more competitive with each passing year."
Ohio State then welcomes Penn State to Columbus for an Oct. 3 meeting as the Buckeyes are coming off one of the most successful seasons in recent memory. OSU hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament thanks to a second-place Big Ten showing and were ranked 23rd in the NSCAA final ranking of the season in 2009.
A two-game road swing to the Midwest sees the Nittany Lions visit Northwestern on Oct. 8 and Iowa on Oct. 10 before hosting two weekend home games the following weekend. Minnesota (Oct. 15) and Wisconsin (Oct. 17) visit Happy Valley with the Badgers coming off a third-round NCAA appearance last year. Penn State visits Illinois (Oct. 24) before hosting Indiana in a mid-week 7:00 p.m. night clash on Oct. 28 at Jeffrey Field. PSU travels to Purdue on Halloween for a 1:00 p.m. match before celebrating Senior Day at Jeffrey against the Michigan Wolverines on Nov. 7 at 1:00 p.m.
The 2010 NCAA Tournament is set for a similar format as in years past with the first round slated for Thursday or Friday, Nov. 11-12 and the second round games to be held at the same site on Saturday or Sunday, Nov. 13-14. Third round games are set for Nov. 19-20 and Quarterfinal matches the weekend after Thanksgiving on Nov. 26-28. Matches for the first four rounds will be held at various campus sites of qualifying NCAA teams prior to tournament play. The NCAA Women's College Cup will be played in Cary, N.C. on Thursday, Dec. 2 and Saturday Dec. 4.
Preseason workouts are scheduled to begin Friday, Aug. 6 as the Nittany Lions prepare to take on Villanova in an exhibition game on Aug. 14. Penn State will travel to Villanova for the scrimmage, which is scheduled to take place at 3:00 p.m. on the suburban Philadelphia campus.
For more information the Penn State Sport Camps 2010 visit http://www.outreach.psu.edu/psu-sport-camps/
For complete coverage of Penn State women's soccer, please visit http://www.GoPSUsports.com/sports/w-soccer.
Follow Penn State women's soccer on Twitter: @PSUWomensSoccer
--NITTANY LIONS--