Sept. 1, 2011
vs. N.C. State: | vs. Colorado College/Pittsburgh: GameTracker (TBA)
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State women's soccer team looks to extend its three-game winning and shutout streaks when it opens play on Friday at the Pitt Soccer Classic. The Nittany Lions play N.C. State at 5:00 p.m. on Ambrose Urbanic Field at Petersen Sports Complex before a Sunday matchup against either Colorado College or Pittsburgh.
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
vs.
NORTH CAROLINA STATE
Game #5: Sept. 2, 2011 | 5:00 p.m. | Ambrose Urbanic Field | Pittsburgh, Pa.
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
vs.
COLORADO COLLEGE/PITTSBURGH
Game #6: Sept. 4, 2011 | 11:30 a.m. or 2 p.m. | Ambrose Urbanic Field | Pittsburgh, Pa.
GAME DAY
VENUE (CAPACITY): Ambrose Urbanic Field (1,000)
SURFACE : Turf
STREAMING COVERAGE: None, live stats through GameTracker
SERIES RECORD VS. NCSU: First Meeting
SERIES RECORD VS. CC: First Meeting
SERIES RECORD VS. PITT: Penn State leads 7-0-0
LAST MEETING: 9/1/02, Penn State 7-2 (at PSU)
NEXT GAMES: 9/9-11 at Nike Virginia Classic
GAME STORIES
• Nittany Lions travel to Pitt Soccer Classic against N.C. State on Friday
• Penn State coming off dominating 5-0 and 3-0 wins over #17 West Virginia & Richmond
• Maya Hayes was tabbed Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week and landed on Soccer America's Team of the Week for three-goal weekend
• Jess Rosenbluth earned TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week honors
• Head coach Erica Walsh won her 100th collegiate game as a head coach vs. WVU
• Penn State currently riding a 294-minute shutout streak dating back to Aug. 19
GAME STORIES
PITT SOCCER CLASSIC SCHEDULE: Penn State plays N.C. State at 5 p.m. on Friday and will await knowledge of its next opponent until the conclusion of the Colorado College/Pittsburgh match. If PSU is to play Colorado College, the match will be played at 11:30 a.m. If PSU is set to take on host Pittsburgh, the match will commence at 2:00 p.m.
Friday, September 2
5:00 p.m. - PENN STATE vs. N.C. State
7:30 p.m. - Colorado College at Pittsburgh
Sunday, September 4
11:30 a.m. - Colorado College vs. PENN STATE/N.C. State
2:00 p.m. - Pittsburgh vs. PENN STATE/N.C. State
SCOUTING THE WOLF PACK: North Carolina State (4-0-0) enter Friday's matchup as the lone unbeaten, untied team in the Pitt Soccer Classic following a 1-0 home win against LSU on Monday. Prior to defeating the Tigers, NCSU downed VCU (1-0), Navy (1-0) and Old Dominion (4-1) at home. In net, Kim Kern has posted three shutouts in 352 minutes of game time with a 0.26 goals against average and a .950 save percentage. Defender Alex Berger leads the team with three goals and six points, notching the trio of scores off just four shots, accounting for three game-winning tallies. Striker Tanya Cain is the main threat up top with her two goals and one assist, while Stephanie Bronson and Kristina Argiroff have each notched goals this season.
SERIES HISTORY vs. NCSU: None
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS: Pittsburgh (1-2-1) is coming off its first victory of 2011, a 1-0 decision over Delaware at the JMU Tournament. The Panthers suffered a 6-0 loss to James Madison after an opening 0-1-1 weekend against Eastern Michigan (1-1, 2OT) and Ohio (0-2). Ashley Cuba leads the offense in the young season with two of Pitt's three goals, including the game-winner against Delaware. Other offensive threats are Katelyn Ruhe (three points) and Katelyn Lippert (10 shots). The Pittsburgh goalie situation is a bit muddled with Kristine Rioux seeing action in three matches with three starts and 245 minutes, while Nicole D'Agostino has started one match and been a reserve in another. Rioux is expected to be the top choice with a 1.47 GAA and a .750 save percentage, but D'Agostino (4.00 GAA, .455 save pct.) got the start and the win against Delaware.
SERIES HISTORY vs. PITT: Penn State has ruled the rivalry with the Panthers taking all seven contests from 1996-2002, winning by four or more goals on six occasions. PSU is 3-0-0 at Pitt's home field with decisions of 2-1 (1996), 7-1 (1999) and 6-2 (2001). The 2-1 game was the tightest score in the series history. The Nittany Lions have out-scored the Panthers 41-7 all-time.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS: Colorado College (1-3-0) treks to the Steel City coming off a 1-0 shutout of Jacksonville at home last week. The win snapped a three-game losing streak to start the season for the Conference USA squad after a 5-0 loss to Colorado and matching 2-1 losses to Denver and Utah State. Brittany Lyman, Katie Uyenishi and Kelsey Wise have the three Tiger goals this season with Wise tallying the lone game-winner. Hanna Berglund has seen every minute in between the pipes for CC, posting a 2.26 GAA and a .571 save percentage.
SERIES HISTORY vs. CC:  None
PENN STATE INVITATIONAL DOMINATION: The Nittany Lions exited the Penn State Invitational as champions after a 2-0-0 record and a +8 goal differential. The Nittany Lions scored early and often as it trounced No. 17 West Virginia, 5-0, at Jeffrey Field on Friday night (Aug. 26). PSU put three on the board in the first eight minutes of play. Taylor Schram notched a five-point night with three assists as the Nittany Lions set a new school record for most helpers in a game with nine. Midfielders Maddy Evans and Jess Rosenbluth tallied three-point evenings, netting the first two goals to shock the Mountaineers. PSU set a new school record for assists in a game with nine. One of those assists came from an unusual source as goalkeeper Erin McNulty set up the third goal in the eighth minute on a clearance to Schram, whose header was inch-perfect for Hayes. Christine Nairn also managed two helpers and Bri Garcia chipped in with one of her own.
On Sunday (Aug. 28), Penn State team took a while to get on the board, but when it did, Richmond could not respond in a 3-0 victory. Rosenbluth scored and assisted another for a three-point afternoon, while Hayes's fourth goal of the season proved to be the game-winner. Jackie Molinda notched the final tally of the weekend, her first goal of the 2011 season. McNulty put on another fine show in net to help lead Penn State to its third straight shutout, the longest such streak for PSU since Nov. 1-13, 2009.
CENTURY MARK: The 5-0 win over West Virginia not only marked the largest margin of victory over WVU, it was head coach Erica Walsh's 100th victory in her career. Previously in charge at Dartmouth and Harvard, Walsh has compiled a 61-28-5 (.676) record at Penn State for a 101-56-8 (.636) overall record.
AUGUST'S WEEKLY ACCOLADES: Penn State's 2-0-0 weekend with a combined 8-0 score over WVU and Richmond did not go unnoticed by regional, conference and national publications this week (Aug. 31). Maya Hayes racked up three honors: Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, Philly Soccer News Player of the Week and a spot on the Soccer America Team of the Week. Nittany Lions midfielders Christine Nairn and Jess Rosenbluth landed on the CollegeSoccer360.com Primetime Performer list and TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week, respectively.
LEADING & SHUTTING OUT FOES: Following PSU's game at No. 2 Stanford, the Nittany Lions have not trailed in a match this season. In fact, Penn State has led for over 194 of 270 minutes of game time during the three-match winning streak. More impressively, the Nittany Lions are on a shutout streak of 292:36, the longest such streak since 2009.
CALIFORNIA SPLIT: PSU showed no ill effects of a 4-0 loss at No. 2 Stanford, pushing play from beginning to end, opening a 2-0 halftime lead behind the strength of Kori Chapic's and Emily Hurd's goals as Penn State downed Nevada 4-0 on Aug. 21. The freshman duo lifted the Nittany Lions early and led Penn State to the easy victory. Sophomores Maya Hayes and Taylor Schram notched goals in the second half, while Jess Rosenbluth supplied two helpers and Bri Garcia chipped in with one of her own. Erin McNulty and Krissy Tribbett combined on PSU's first shutout of the year.
LION LEADERS: Penn State has two captains this season in senior Emma Thomson and junior Lexi Marton. The duo were selected as the leaders of the team during spring play.
MONTHLY WINS: Penn State open September in Pittsburgh and play nine matches in the ninth month of the year. The Nittany Lions are 106-28-13 all-time in September for a .765 winning percentage. PSU went 3-1-0 this past August to up its record to 16-9-2 (.630) all-time.
TROPHY CANDIDATE: Penn State junior midfielder Christine Nairn was honored by three separate national entities in the preseason. Nairn was featured on the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy Watch List as well as Soccer America's Preseason All-America roster and TopDrawerSoccer.com's Top 100 Upperclasswomen.
RULING THE ROOST: The Big Ten coaches' preseason predictions were released on Wednesday, Aug. 16 and Penn State was tabbed to claim its 14th-straight Big Ten title. Ohio State and Wisconsin were tabbed No. 2 and No. 3, respectively for the second straight year.
NEXT TIME OUT:  The Nittany Lions will travel for the third time in four weeks to start the season as they take part in the Nike Virginia Classic. Penn State plays Central Florida at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 9 before taking on sixth-ranked Virginia at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 11 in Charlottesville.
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--NITTANY LIONS--