Oct. 13, 2011
Friday vs. NEBRASKA: | BTN.com Webcast
Sunday vs. IOWA: | Watch Live
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The 15th-ranked Nittany Lions host the newest member of the Big Ten, Nebraska, for an 8:00 p.m. Friday tilt in the Huskers' first appearance in Happy Valley as a Big Ten member. Penn State will be hosting its Pink Night against the Huskers, while PSU welcomes Iowa to town on Sunday for an 11:00 p.m. kick-off. It will be Kids Club Day and Military Appreciation Day at Jeffrey Field vs. Iowa, which is a doubleheader with the men's soccer team vs. Northwestern.
#15 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (12-3-0, 5-1-0 Big Ten)
vs.
NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS (5-7-1, 2-4-0 Big Ten)
Game #16: Oct. 14, 2011 | 8:00 p.m. | Jeffrey Field | University Park, Pa.
vs.
IOWA HAWKEYES (10-2-2, 2-2-2 Big Ten)
Game #17: Oct. 16, 2011 | 11:00 a.m. | Jeffrey Field | University Park, Pa.
PARKING & TRAFFIC ADVISORY
Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics has released it's parking & traffic advisory for Friday night in relation to the evening's Penn State Homecoming Parade and concert at Bryce Jordan Center. The 8:00 p.m. kick-off is an hour later than originally scheduled due to the parade. The parade will force some parking lots and road to close around the University Park campus. Fans attending Friday night's match will have to utilize available parking at Nittany Lion Softball Park. Admission to the soccer game and parking will all be free if attendees park over at the softball stadium. Parking around the BJC will be $10.
PROMOTIONS
Friday vs. Nebraska: The Nittany Lions welcome Nebraska for the Cornhuskers' first visit to Happy Valley as a Big Ten member in any sport on Pink Day. All donations and proceeds will be donated to Mount Nittany Medical Center for breast cancer research. Friday kicks off Homecoming with many events surrounding the annual festivities including a parade. Park Avenue Army will host a BBQ cookout and fans will welcome the Cornhuskers with free popcorn when attending the match against the Big Ten's newest member. The food will be available in the pavilion located across the street from Jeffrey Field on the corner of Park Avenue and University Drive.
Sunday vs. Iowa: The first game in a PSU soccer doubleheader as the women face Iowa and the men take on Northwestern. The women's soccer team will host Kids Club Day and Military Appreciation Day. The first 50 kids will receive insulated school lunch bags and have the opportunity to receive t-shirts. Penn State's ROTC programs will be assisting with a rock climbing wall and bringing multiple military vehicles to the game. A now annual tradition, the Army and Navy ROTC programs will face off at halftime and the PSU women's soccer student-athletes will sign autographs after the game before the Penn Sate-Northwestern men's match.
GAME DAY
VENUE (SURFACE, CAPACITY): Jeffrey Field (Grass; 5,000)
STREAMING COVERAGE: BTN.com Digital Webcast (Sun.), GoPSUsports.com Webcast (Fri.)
SERIES RECORD VS. NEB: 0-0-0, First Meeting
SERIES RECORD VS. IOWA: 16-0-0 (7-0-0 at Jeffrey Field)
LAST MEETING: 10/10/10, PSU 3-0 (at Iowa City, Iowa)
NEXT GAME: 10/21 at Michigan St., 3 p.m. • 10/23 at Michigan, Noon
GAME STORIES
• Nittany Lions host Nebraska for the first time in any sport as a Big Ten member at PSU
• Penn State looks to improve upon season-high six-game winning streak
• Lions seek 17th straight win against Iowa in as many meetings with the Hawkeyes
• PSU downed Indiana 3-0 in Bloomington, Ind., taking a four-point lead in the Big Ten
• Maya Hayes leads NCAA Division I in goals (18) and points (41)
• Junior Christine Nairn expected to return to action after missing Indiana match
•â€'Penn State has tallied 50 assists on 38 goals in 2011, leading the Big Ten
• Goalkeeper Erin McNulty set a new school record for assists in a season by a GK
GAME NOTES
SCOUTING THE HUSKERS: Nebraska (5-7-1, 2-4-0 Big Ten) has been reeling the past three weeks following a 2-0 start in its new conference. The Huskers dropped its last three at home, while scoring just one goal and conceding five in those matches to Michigan State (1-0), Michigan (2-1) and Wisconsin (2-0). Morgan Marlborough leads the once-explosive offense by tallying 16 goals and 36 points this season behind three hat tricks. Marlborough ranks second in the Big Ten and NCAA behind PSU's Maya Hayes in goals. Marlborough's running mates Jordan Jackson has scored six times with five assists, while Stacy Bartels has added five goals as the trio accounts for 29 of Nebraska's 31 goals. Nebraska's defense has surrendered 20 goals in 13 matches as goalkeeper Emma Stevens has a 1.42 GAA and .743 save percentage with two shutouts.
SERIES HISTORY vs. NEB: Penn State and Nebraska have never met in women's soccer. The Huskers' visit is the first by any Nebraska program to Penn State as a Big Ten member.
SCOUTING THE HAWKEYES: Iowa (10-2-2, 2-2-2 Big Ten) is having one of its finest years ever in women's soccer having begun the season on an 11-game unbeaten streak, a new school record. Unfortunately, Big Ten season hasn't been as kind as the non-conference portion, as the Hawkeyes have gone 1-2-1 in the past four matches including a 2-1 home defeat to Minnesota. Iowa has out-scored its opponents 35-11 overall, but are 5-5 in Big Ten play. Freshman Cloe Lacasse leads the team in scoring with 10 goals and five assists for 25 points. Other offensive threats come from Alex Melin (11 points), Leah DeMoss (10), Katie Nasenbenny (10) and Dana Dalrymple (10). In net, senior Emily Moran is enjoying her best year yet, posting a 0.74 goals against average with four shutouts and an .859 save percentage in 1,222 minutes of game time.
SERIES HISTORY vs. IOWA: Penn State has never dropped a point to Iowa, owning a 16-0-0 mark against the Hawkeyes including a 7-0-0 record at Jeffrey Field. In the 16 meetings with Iowa, Penn State has out-scored the Hawkeyes, 61-8. Last season, the Nittany Lions downed Iowa, 3-0, in Iowa City. The last Hawkeye visit to Jeffrey Field yielded a 4-0 shutout for Penn State in 2009.
SHORTHANDED WIN AT INDIANA:  Despite playing without four key starters, No. 18 Penn State cruised to a 3-0 win at Indiana on Sunday, Oct. 9. Maya Hayes scored twice to move into sole possession of the national lead in goals (18) and points (41) as Carly Niness tallied her first of the season in the three-goal win. Hayes scored in the sixth minute off a Jess Rosenbluth helper, her eighth of the season, for a 1-0 lead. Penn State broke the game 19 minutes into the second half as Niness headed home an Ali Schaefer corner kick. Two minutes later, Hayes scored when she chipped the goalkeeper off a punt from Penn State netminder Erin McNulty. The assist was McNulty's third of the season, a new school record.
NATIONAL SCORING LEADER: Maya Hayes has been on fire all season, scoring 18 times and tallying five assists through 15 games. Hayes currently leads NCAA Division I women's soccer in total goals and total points (41). Hayes is rocketing up the Penn State charts as she is tied for second with Heidi Drummond (2001) for most goals by a sophomore. She needs three more to match Tiffany Weimer's 21 set in 2003. Hayes is also tied for the record for game-winning goals by a sophomore with Katie Schoepfer (2007) and Christie Welsh (2000) with seven. Hayes needs just one more point to tie for third in points by a sophomore and two for second place with Drummond's `01 campaign.
HAYES'S THIRD BIG TEN AWARD: Sophomore sensation Maya Hayes was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week for the third time on Monday after her two-goal effort at Indiana. Penn State also improved its record when Hayes scores a goal to 10-1-0 on the year as the sophomore tallied her sixth multi-goal game of the season. Hayes has tallied a point in 11 of Penn State's 15 matches this year. Hayes's third Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week recognition represents the fourth Penn State award on offense, including Ali Schaefer's accolade on Sept. 26. The last Nittany Lion athlete to win three player of the week honors in the same season was Alyssa Naeher and Katie Schoepfer in 2009, with four and three, respectively.
NATIONAL RANKINGS REVIEW: Penn State moved up in every national poll this week thanks to extending its six-game winning streak at Indiana. PSU is up to 15th in the NSCAA poll. SoccerTimes.com moved Penn State up to 19th and Soccer America pegged Penn State at 17th, the sixth-straight week the Lions have been in the publication's poll. TopDrawerSoccer.com ranked PSU 15th, while the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) was released for the third time this week with the Nittany Lions notching 16th, tops amongst all Big Ten sides and a six-spot improvement.
MAY I HELP YOU?: An important aspect to possession-based play that head coach Erica Walsh has instilled in the Nittany Lions is the finish off combination plays. This season has seen all 38 goals scored by the Nittany Lions helped by an assist. In total, PSU has 50 assists, which leads the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions are on pace for the most assists by a Penn State squad. The record was set in 2001 with 67 (2.58 per game) in 26 contests. This year's squad averages 3.33 assists per game and would notch 67 by Game 20. Against West Virginia, PSU set a new school record with nine helpers, led by Taylor Schram's career-high three. Maya Hayes matched Schram's WVU effort with three of her own in the OSU victory. Four of the five goals PSU scored that night featured double assists and the Lions would add two more double assists in its game against N.C. State. Christine Nairn, leads the Big Ten with nine assists, while Schram and Jess Rosenbluth owns eight apiece. Sixteen Nittany Lions have tallied helpers this season including goalkeeper Erin McNulty, who started a Hayes goal in the team's season opener vs. WVU and another Hayes goal in the comeback over Ohio State. McNulty added a third assist on a Hayes tally against Indiana this past week, giving her three on the year, which is a new school record for goalkeepers.
GOPHER TRIUMPH: No. 24 Penn State tallied a crucial 1-0 road win at Minnesota's Robbie Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 2. Sophomore striker Maya Hayes scored her nation leading 16th goal and sixth game-winner of the season in the 84th minute to push the Nittany Lions past the Golden Gophers. Carly Niness tallied her first assist on the play, setting up a pass to Taylor Schram who sent Hayes in on net. Erin McNulty recorded her third solo shutout in the Nittany Lions' conference leading eighth clean sheet of the year.
PSU CRACKS THE BUCKEYES: No. 24 Penn State women's soccer overcame a 1-0 halftime deficit with a trio of lightning-strike goals in a 3-1 victory over Ohio State on Thursday night, Sept. 29 at Jeffrey Field. Taylor Schram notched the tying goal 15 seconds after halftime to begin the scoring barrage, while Kori Chapic headed home the game-winner 1:44 later. Emily Hurd scored her third goal of the year to give PSU the two-goal margin, while Maya Hayes recorded a career high three assists in the victory over the conference leader. The result coupled with Minnesota's 2-2 tie at Wisconsin, vaulted Penn State into first in the Big Ten.
CHAPIC & HAYES EARN AWARDS: Penn State standouts Kori Chapic and Maya Hayes earned weekly awards on Monday, Oct. 3. Chapic was tabbed as the Freshman of the Week in the Big Ten, while Hayes corralled a spot on the TopDrawerSoccer.com's Team of the Week. Chapic received her first notable award of the season thanks to a game-winning goal against Ohio State this past Thursday and outstanding defense in a perfect 2-0 week for the Nittany Lions. Hayes scored the game-winner at Minnesota and tallied three helpers in the win over Ohio State.
NAIRN & WALSH CALLED TO DUTY: On Tuesday, Sept. 27, junior midfield standout Christine Nairn was tabbed by U.S. Soccer to participate in a six-day training camp with the U-23 squad running from Oct. 2-7. Nairn, who was unable to participate in California due to an injury suffered at Minnesota, was set to be be accompanied by Penn State head coach and U.S. National Team assistant coach Erica Walsh to the camp. In all, 24 players took part in the unique training camp that featured U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage as well as the U.S. women's development director Jill Ellis and technical director April Heinrichs. Nairn has two caps with the senior U.S. squad from 2009, scoring the game-winning goal against Canada in July 2009. Nairn was a starting member of the 2008 U-20 World Cup champion team with former Nittany Lion teammate Alyssa Naeher and went on to captain the U-20 team at the 2010 World Cup.
BIG TEN HOME SWEEP: Penn State swept its Big Ten opening home stand (Sept. 23-25) with a dominating 4-0 win over Northwestern and a staunch 1-0 defensive effort against then-No. 22 Illinois. Ali Schaefer and Maya Hayes each scored twice to pace Penn State past Northwestern with Bri Hovington, Christine Nairn, Jess Rosenbluth, Taylor Schram and Ali Schaefer tallying assists each. Against Illinois, a packed midfield didn't allow either team's offense to get rolling. Schaefer broke through in the 39th minute with a cleverly placed shot to the upper left corner of the net off a pass from Whitney Church for the deciding goal. Erin McNulty earned her second shutout with three saves, while PSU earned its seventh blanking of the year.
SCORING STREAK: Maya Hayes concluded a career-high seven-game scoring streak a couple weeks ago, tallying a goal from the Nevada match on Aug. 21 to Sept. 11 at Virginia. Hayes's streak is tied for third all-time in PSU history with Christie Welsh (2000) and Katie Schoepfer (2009). Hayes was six games from matching Tiffany Weimer's 2004 streak of 13. Weimer holds a share of the NCAA record at 17 set in 2005. The sophomore striker has scored in 11 of her last 14 matches.
MONTHLY WINS: Penn State continues October at Armstrong Stadium with a 2-0-0 record thus far. In all, the Lions play seven matches in the 10th month of the year. The Nittany Lions are 127-22-4 all-time in October for an astounding .843 winning percentage. PSU went 3-1-0 in August to up its all-time record to 16-9-2 (.630), while posting a 7-2-0 mark to improve to 113-30-13 (.767) all-time.
ALI SCHAEFER REAPS REWARDS: Senior reserve midfielder Ali Schaefer deservingly captured the awards that come with a three-goal, seven-point weekend. She was named the Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career along with a SoccerSavings.com/Philly Soccer News Player of the Week nod. Schaefer also earned recognition from TopDrawerSoccer.com and Soccer America on their respective Teams of the Week.
MARTON BACK FROM CNT: Defender and co-captain Lexi Marton left State College on Monday, Sept. 12 to join the Canadian National Team ahead of its two-game friendly series against the United States. While Marton didn't play in the first match against the Americans, the junior out of Aurora, Ontario started and played all 90 minutes in the second match on Sept. 22 in front of 18,000 fans at JELD-WEN Stadium in Portland, Ore. Included on the Canadian National Team were former Nittany Lion standouts Erin McLeod, who started for the Canadians in the 2011 FIFA World Cup, and Carmelina Moscato. On the American side, Ali Krieger featured in her normal defensive role on the right flank. Krieger made headlines all over the world for her match-clinching penalty kick against Brazil in the World Cup Quarterfinals en route to the Cup Final.
MAY I HELP YOU?: An important aspect to possession-based play that head coach Erica Walsh has instilled in the Nittany Lions is the finish off combination plays. This season has seen all 31 goals scored by the Nittany Lions helped by an assist. In total, PSU has 40 assists, which leads the Big Ten. Against West Virginia, PSU set a new school record with nine helpers, led by Taylor Schram's career-high three. Four of the five goals PSU scored that night featured double assists and the Lions would add two more double assists in its game against N.C. State. Christine Nairn, leads the Big Ten with eight assists, while Schram and Jess Rosenbluth owns seven apiece. Fifteen Nittany Lions have tallied helpers this season including goalkeeper Erin McNulty, who started a Maya Hayes goal in the team's season opener vs. WVU.
PENNSYLVANIA DOMINANCE: Sept. 20th's meeting at Bucknell allowed PSU to extend an amazing run of play against Pennsylvania teams. 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 32-2-1 against its Keystone foes, with the only team ever defeating PSU being Villanova. In fact, the Lions are riding a 14-year unbeaten streak since its last loss, a 2-1 defeat at `Nova in 1997. PSU is currently enjoying a 26-0-1 stretch, which includes a 15-0-1 mark against Bucknell and an 8-0-0 mark vs. Pittsburgh.
BISON STAMPEDE: Penn State made quick work of Bucknell in a 4-0 thrashing at Emmitt Field on Tuesday night, Sept. 20. The Nittany Lions used goals scored by four different players and eight Lions tallied a point on the evening. Taylor Schram opened the scoring with Christine Nairn, Emily Hurd and Maya Hayes adding insurance goals. Emma Thomson and Meghan Gill tallied their first points of the year on helpers, while Jess Rosenbluth added one of her own on the final goal. Penn State dominated the Bison, who failed to register a shot on goal.
MONTHLY WINS: Penn State continues October at Armstrong Stadium with a 1-0-0 record thus far. In all, the Lions play seven matches in the 10th month of the year. The Nittany Lions are 126-22-4 all-time in October for an astounding .842 winning percentage. PSU went 3-1-0 in August to up its all-time record to 16-9-2 (.630), while posting a 7-2-0 mark to improve to 113-30-13 (.767) all-time.
LION LEADERS: Penn State has two captains this season in senior Emma Thomson and junior Lexi Marton. The duo was selected as the leaders of the team during spring play.
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: NEXT TIME OUT: Penn State embarks on its final road trip of the regular season with a two-game set at the Michigan schools. The Nittany Lions take on MSU at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 21 before facing Michigan at Noon on Sunday, Oct. 23. The U-M game will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.
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--NITTANY LIONS--