Oct. 20, 2011
Friday at Michigan State:
Sunday at Michigan: | Watch Live | Big Ten Network
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The 14th-ranked Nittany Lions travel to Michigan for two games against the Spartans (Friday at 3 p.m.) and Wolverines (Sunday at Noon). Penn State looks to win at MSU for the first time since 2005 and run its unbeaten streak against Michigan to 11 games.
#14 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (14-3-0, 7-1-0 Big Ten)
at
MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS (12-4-0, 5-3-0 Big Ten)
Game #18: Oct. 21, 2011 | 3:00 p.m. | DeMartin Soccer Complex | East Lansing, Mich.
at
MICHIGAN WOLVERINES (9-5-2, 4-3-1 Big Ten)
Game #19: Oct. 23, 2011 | Noon | U-M Soccer Stadium | Ann Arbor, Mich.
GAME DAY
VENUE (SURFACE, CAPACITY): DeMartin Soccer Complex (Grass; 2,000)
STREAMING COVERAGE: None
SERIES RECORD vs. MSU: 15-4-0 (6-4-0 at Michigan State)
LAST MEETING vs. MSU: 9/26/10, PSU 1-0 at University Park, Pa.
VENUE (SURFACE, CAPACITY) : U-M Soccer Stadium (Grass; 2,200)
TELEVISION COVERAGE: Big Ten Network (live); BTN.com (streaming)
SERIES RECORD VS. MICH: 16-3-5 (7-1-2 at Michigan)
LAST MEETING: 11/7/11, PSU 1-0 (2OT) at University Park, Pa.
NEXT GAME: 10/28 vs. Purdue, 7 p.m. on Big Ten Network
GAME STORIES
• Nittany Lions travel to Michigan to take on the Spartans and Wolverines
• Penn State looks to improve upon season-high eight-game winning streak
• Lions look for first win in East Lansing since `05, 11th straight win vs. Michigan
• PSU swept Nebraska (5-4) and Iowa (4-0) aside for a five-point lead in the Big Ten
• Maya Hayes leads NCAA Division I in goals (21) and points (49)
•â€ˆTaylor Schram named National & Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week (10/17)
•â€'Penn State has tallied 63 assists on 49 goals in 2011, leading the Big Ten in helpers
GAME NOTES
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS: Michigan State (12-4-0, 5-3-0 Big Ten) looks to make it three in a row after a successful 2-0 week against Indiana (2-1, OT) and Michigan (2-0). The Indiana game needed a free-kick goal with just two seconds left by Olivia Stander to stave off a potentially damaging loss for MSU's NCAA Tournament hopes. The high-powered scoring duo of Laura Heyboer and Stander account for 27 of the team's 33 goals in 2011. Heyboer has 38 points this season, while Stander has posted 30. Senior Jill Flietstra patrols the goal, notching seven shutouts in 13 starts this year, posting a 0.68 GAA and .870 save percentage. Michigan State has been especially vulnerable at home this year, dropping three of their four losses at DeMartin Soccer Complex. Two of those losses have come in Big Ten action to Illinois (1-0, Oct. 8) and Wisconsin (2-1, Sept. 23).
SERIES HISTORY vs. MSU: Penn State and Michigan State have been locked in a fierce back-and-forth battle in the past three years. Despite Penn State's 15-4-0 edge, the two teams are knotted at 2-2 since 2008. In fact, PSU has struggled in East Lansing of late, dropping the last two contests to the Spartans and currently running a winless streak that dates back to Oct. 23, 2005. Overall, PSU is 6-4-0 at Michigan State and head coach Erica Walsh is 3-2 against the Spartans, including last year's 1-0 win at Jeffrey Field.
SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES: Michigan (9-5-2, 4-3-1 Big Ten) enters this weekend seeking its first back-to-back 10-win season since 2003-04 when the Wolverines won 11 in each year. Michigan is coming off a dominating 3-1 win at Purdue behind a hat trick by leading scorer Nkem Ezurike (10 goals, 5 assists, 25 points). The Wolverine win snapped a two-game losing streak following defeats by Northwestern (1-0, Oct. 8) and Michigan State (2-0, Oct. 12). Michigan owns a 4-3-2 home record. In net, Haley Kopmeyer has been a strong force for the Wolverines tallying six shutouts with a 0.91 GAA and a .864 save percentage.
SERIES HISTORY vs. MICH: Penn State carries a 16-3-5 overall record into Sunday's meeting in Michigan including a 10-game unbeaten streak that features six straight wins. Last season, PSU needed a goal by Ali Schaefer with 17 seconds left in double overtime to knock off the Wolverines, 1-0, to claim the Lions' 13th straight Big Ten championship. PSU out-shot Michigan 42-6, the 42 shots tied the record for most shots in a game in school history. The clean sheet ran PSU's shutout streak of Michigan to five games dating back to a Sept. 24, 2006 match where Penn State won 4-1 at Jeffrey Field. In Ann Arbor, PSU is 7-1-2, while head coach Erica Walsh is 4-0-0 all-time against Michigan.
IOWA BARNSTORMING: No. 15 Penn State looked lethargic early on, but Maya Hayes sparked the Nittany Lions in the 38th minute on an Iowa miscue en route to a 4-0 win over the Hawkeyes on Sunday, Oct. 16. Emily Hurd set up Hayes's first goal of the day and set up another goal by Taylor Schram who also notched two goals on the afternoon in the rout. Penn State's pinpoint shooting saw the Nittany Lions score on four of five shots on goal. Kori Chapic, Jess Rosenbluth and Carly Niness tallied an assist each as Penn State improved to 17-0-0 all-time against Iowa.
SHUCKING NEBRASKA: Penn State welcomed the Cornhuskers to Happy Valley for the first time as a Big Ten member in any sport and the two teams treated fans to a goalfest. The 5-4 match in Penn State's favor featured four lead changes and three ties. Whitney Church capped the nine-goal onslaught with a 79th minute goal, her first of her collegiate career from Carly Niness and Ali Schaefer. Taylor Schram led all scorers with five points behind two goals and an assist, while Emily Hurd and Maya Hayes provided the other markers. Schaefer notched two helpers; Hayes, Kori Chapic, Jess Rosenbluth also recorded assists.
NATIONAL SCORING LEADER: Maya Hayes has been on fire all season, scoring 21 times and tallying 7 assists through 17 games for 49 points. Hayes currently leads NCAA Division I women's soccer in total goals (by 3) and total points (by 8). Hayes's 21 goals have contributed mightily to Penn State's overall offensive success as PSU has poured in 49 goals, fifth per game in NCAA. The 49 tallies are the most since the 2005 season scored 78.
SOARING UP THE RECORD CHARTS: Sophomore Maya Hayes has been jetting up and down the field as well as in the record books this season. Hayes scored her 20th and 21st goals of the year against Iowa, making her just the third PSU student-athlete to score 20 or more goals in a season, joining Tiffany Weimer and Christie Welsh. Hayes is first in game-winning goals by a PSU sophomore (8), tied for first in goals by a Penn State sophomore (21) and second in points by a sophomore (49). On the single-season charts, Hayes needs one goal to earn sole possession of fourth in goals and three points gain fifth in points, while another game-winning goal ties her for second with PSU legend Welsh.
Complete record charts can be found in the PDF game notes
NATIONAL RANKINGS REVIEW: Penn State moved up in every national poll this week thanks to extending its eight-game winning streak vs. Nebraska and Iowa. PSU is up to 14th in the NSCAA poll. SoccerTimes.com moved Penn State up to 14th and Soccer America pegged Penn State at 12th, the seventh-straight week the Lions have been in the publication's poll. TopDrawerSoccer.com ranked PSU 12th, while the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) was released for the fourth time this season with the Nittany Lions notching 13th, tops amongst all Big Ten sides and a three-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 49 goals scored by the Nittany Lions helped by an assist. In total, PSU has 63 assists, which leads the Big Ten and is just four off the single-season school record of 67 set in 2001 (2.58 per game in 26 matches). This year's squad averages 3.71 assists per game and are on pace for 74 during the regular season. 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.
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 13 of her last 16 matches and is now on a four-game scoring streak.
Recaps and other notes from previous matches can be found in the complete game notes
NEXT TIME OUT: Penn State finishes its regular season on Friday, Oct. 28 at 7:00 p.m. against Purdue. The match will serve as Senior Night for the departing Nittany Lions and the game will be televised by Big Ten Network, tape delayed to be shown at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 30.
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--NITTANY LIONS--