Oct. 22, 2010
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's soccer hits the road to take on No. 13 Illinois for a 2:00 p.m. ET meeting in Champaign on Sunday. The match will be streamed live on BigTenNetwork.com with live stats on GameTracker.
The complete game notes can be found HERE.
GAME NOTES
SCOUTING THE ILLINI: No. 13 Illinois is riding a major high after becoming the first team to beat No. 17 Ohio State in 2010, 2-1, on Thursday. OSU went up 1-0 after 51 minutes, but Illinois was resilient and saw Big Ten leading scorer Vanessa DiBernardo notch the game-tying goal int eh 63rd minute. Niki Read provided the exciting game-winner in the 84th minute, moving Illinois to 11-2-1 on the year. The Illini struggled last season to a 7-9-3 overall record including a 2-6-2 in Big Ten play, which marks the great turnaround in Champaign. DiBernardo leads the team with 22 points behind 10 goals and two assists. The 2009 leading scorer, Jordan Hilbrands, is expected to be out for Sunday's game against the Lions. Alexandra Kapicka has started 9-of-14 games in net with a 0.59 goals-against average with a .860 save percentage, helping the Illini to seven shutouts.
SERIES HISTORY: Penn State has executed beautifully against Illinois historically, holding an 18-2-0 overall record. Last season, the Nittany Lions laid the biggest win on the Illini, scoring a half dozen times in a 6-0 win on the Big Ten Network. Katie Schoepfer led the charge with her first ever hat trick. Penn State is a 6-1-0 all-time at Illinois, including a 2-0 win in 2008, while Erica Walsh is 3-0-0 against the Fighting Illini. Scoring wise, Penn State holds a 53-19 edge.
WISCONSIN LETDOWN: Coming off an exciting 2-1 comeback win over then-No. 15 Minnesota, Penn State faced another crucial game against Wisconsin, but fell 3-2 on Sunday, Oct. 17. Penn State fell behind 2-0 after 32 minutes. The Lions started to turn the offense around, cutting the lead in half when Tani Costa sent a half volley home off a Megan Monroig cross in the 38th minute. Penn State controlled most of the second half, out-shooting the Badgers 14-3, and finally equalized the game in the 78th minute when Maya Hayes broke free on the right wing for her fourth goal of the year. Just 44 seconds later, Kodee Williams ran behind the PSU defense and slotted home the game winner and giving Wisconsin its second-ever win against the Lions, the first since 1995.
MINNESOTA UPSET: The Nittany Lions were faced with the biggest game of the season and dominated then-No. 15 Minnesota on the statsheet, but not on the scoreboard during a Friday, Oct. 15 match. In a game where Penn State held the Big Ten's most explosive offense to just two shots all game, ultimately out-shooting the Gophers 13-2, the Lions had to come back from a 1-0 deficit. Taylor Schram headed home the game-tying goal in the 73rd minute off a cross from Danielle Toney before Maddy Evans's header won the game in the 76th minute off a Christine Nairn corner kick. The win over the 15th-ranked Golden Gophers tied the highest upset by an unranked Penn State squad after PSU's 2-1 win over then-No. 15 Ohio State in 2009 at Jeffrey Field.
IOWA DOMINATION CONTINUES: Penn State received offense from some unexpected places as the Lions rolled to a 3-0 win at Iowa on Sunday, Oct. 10. Julie Hubbard and Tani Costa each tallied three points on a goal and an assist, while Bri Garcia's 26th header began the rout. Garcia's goal was assisted by Christine Nairn, her fifth point of the weekend. PSU out-shot the Hawkeyes, 25-9, while Krissy Tribbett made five saves in a combined shutout with Kristin Hartmann. Penn State moved to 16-0-0 all-time against Iowa with the win.
LAKESIDE TRIUMPH:  Two nights earlier, Christine Nairn starred on Friday, Oct. 8 as she keyed a comeback for Penn State with two goals in a 2-1 win at Northwestern on Lakeside Field. Penn State gave up a 12th minute goal, but allowed only two shots the rest of the night as PSU won its 14th in a row over NU. Nairn equalized the match on a spot kick after a Northwestern handball in the penalty area in the 30th minute. In the 67th, Hayley Brock lofted a cross from the right wing and Nairn headed home the game-winner, completing PSU's first comeback victory since a 3-2 win against UConn (8/31/08), which also saw a Nairn header win it.
BIG TEN WEEKLY HONORS:  The Big Ten Conference recognized the outstanding play of two Nittany Lions, Krissy Tribbett and Tani Costa, on Monday, Oct. 11. Tribbett was named the league's Defensive Player of the Week after posting a 0.51 goals-against average for two games and making six saves at Northwestern and Iowa with one shutout. Costa contributed a goal and an assist against Iowa while making one start in two appearances. The two awards are the first for each student-athlete.
BIG TEN OPENING WIN: Penn State earned its first shutout of the season in a tense 1-0 win over Michigan State on Sunday, Sept. 26 at Jeffrey Field. Christine Nairn converted a penalty kick in the 20th minute for the deciding goal. Maya Hayes took a pass down the left wing and was brought down by MSU's Annie Steinlege, drawing the penalty kick. The spirited opening conference match saw 27 fouls combined from each team including four bookings. In the end, Krissy Tribbett's two saves in the final 90 seconds sewed up the victory for PSU who won their 17th straight Big Ten home opener (17-0-0) and upped their unbeaten streak against Big Ten competition to 10 (9-0-1).
OSU HEARTBREAK: Penn State suffered a tough 1-0 overtime loss at Ohio State on Sunday, Oct. 3. A defensive miscue allowed OSU's Paige Maxwell to give the Buckeyes the win. After a tough 90 minutes of scoreless play goalkeeper Krissy Tribbett misplayed a passback. Maxwell gathered the mistake and put the shot from eight yards out to the left post and give the Buckeyes the win.
BIG TEN OPENING WIN: Penn State earned its first shutout of the season in a tense 1-0 win over Michigan State on Sunday, Sept. 26 at Jeffrey Field. Christine Nairn converted a penalty kick in the 20th minute for the deciding goal. Maya Hayes took a pass down the left wing and was brought down by MSU's Annie Steinlege, drawing the penalty kick. The spirited opening conference match saw 27 fouls combined from each team including four bookings. In the end, Krissy Tribbett's two saves in the final 90 seconds sewed up the victory for PSU who won their 17th straight Big Ten home opener (17-0-0) and upped their unbeaten streak against Big Ten competition to 10 (9-0-1).
BUCKNELL BREAKOUT: Penn State snapped its five-game skid in emphatic fashion with a 5-1 thrashing of Bucknell on Wednesday night at Jeffrey Field. Maya Hayes scored a first half goal before PSU unleashed a four-goal second-half barrage.  Hayes has now scored in each of her last three games. Danielle Toney led the Lions with two goals, while freshman Taylor Schram notched three points in the second half. Christine Nairn notched two assists from midfield, while Bri Hovington supplied her first collegiate point with an assist. Hayley Brock capped the scoring in the 76th minute as PSU improved to 14-0-1 all-time vs. Bucknell. The Nittany Lions are now 25-3-2 all-time when Toney tallied a marker and 29-2-1 all-time against Pennsylvania teams. Currently, the Lions are on a 24 game unbeaten streak against Keystone State foes.
PENNSYLVANIA DOMINANCE: Since starting its program in 1994, Penn State has become the premier women's soccer program in Pennsylvania. All-time, the Nittany Lions are an impressive 28-2-1 against its Keystone foes, with the only team ever defetating PSU being Villanova. In fact, the Lions are riding a 13-year unbeaten streak since its last loss, a 2-1 defeat at `Nova in 1997. PSU is currently enduring a 22-0-1 stretch, which includes a 13-0-1 mark against Bucknell.
INVITATIONAL REDUX: The Nittany Lions hosted the fifth annual Penn State Invitational last weekend, going 0-1-1. Friday's game saw an exciting tilt between two top 15 teams in Penn State and Virginia as the Nittany Lions took a lead 54 minutes into the game on a Hayley Brock marker off a helper from Tani Costa. Virginia equalized in the 88th minute to send it to overtime where the game ended in a 1-1 draw. On Sunday, PSU took the lead for the third straight time in 2010 when Danielle Toney scored her second of the season, only to see it be equaled by William & Mary minutes later. A 74th minute free kick goal from 40 yards out saw the Tribe leave Jeffrey Field with the win.
| Penn State Women's Soccer Thanks its Fans! |
PACKING THE JEFF: Penn State and Virginia entertained 3,921 at Jeffrey Field, a new women's soccer single-game attendance record at the facility. A strong showing from the student section of Nittany Nation made their voices felt throughout the matches, lifting the Nittany Lions. The previous record was 3,208 set in Aug. 2006 in a match against UCLA, a 2-1 Penn State win. Last year, Penn State ranked ninth in the nation in average attendance (1,198) and tops in the Big Ten.
GOAL FOR 13,000: Penn State has put together an ambitious promotion plan into place to see 13,000 fans see a women's soccer game at Jeffrey Field. Last season, the Lions set a new single-season attendance record with 1,138 people per game. A total of 14,378 joined the NIttany Lions, second most in the team's history in raw numbers. The 14,711 in 2005 still stands as the most. 13,000 in nine games (1,444 per game) would break last year's single-season record.
EXORCISING THE MOUNTAINEERS:  West Virginia has had Penn State's number since 2007. No more. Penn State broke its four-game skid against the Mountaineers with a thrilling 2-1 overtime win over the 24th ranked WVU squad. A 22nd-minute goal by Danielle Toney was equalized by Bri Rodriguez in the 34th minute. The two teams went into overtime, mostly due to WVU goalkeeper Kerri Butler's outstanding play (nine saves). Tani Costa took a Hayley Brock delivery, cut back and slotted a left-footed shot home for the victory with 49 seconds left in the first OT period. It was Penn State's first overtime win since Oct. 2008, first win over WVU since Nov. 2005 and the first win in Morgantown since Oct. 2003. The goal was Costa's first in college play in her collegiate debut.
NEXT TIME OUT: NEXT TIME OUT: The Nittany Lions return home for a mid-week clash, taking on Indiana on Thursday, Oct. 28. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. with PSU women's soccer celebrating Halloween at Jeffrey Field. The game will be aired live on BigTenNetwork.com.
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--NITTANY LIONS--