Nov. 1, 2011
Big Ten Quarterfinals at Northwestern: | BTN.com Stream | Tourney Central
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- The 11th-ranked Nittany Lion women's soccer team open its Big Ten Tournament campaign at Northwestern on Wednesday at Lakeside Field. Kick-off between the top-seeded Nittany Lions and Wildcats is set for 5:30 p.m. ET with live streaming through BTN.com.
#11 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (17-3-0)
at
NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS (2-15-1)
Game #21: Nov. 2, 2011 | 5:30 p.m. ET | Lakeside Field | Evanston, Ill.
GAME DAY
VENUE: Lakeside Field (Turf; 2,000)
COVERAGE: BTN.com Streaming Video
SERIES RECORD: 18-2-0 (7-2-0 at Lakeside Field)
LAST MEETING: 9/23/11, PSU 4-0 at University Park, Pa.
NEXT GAME: If PSU advances, 11/4 vs. Minnesota/Wisconsin, 4:45 p.m. ET
GAME STORIES
• Nittany Lions take on the Wildcats in Big Ten Quarterfinals
• Big Ten Tournament makes return after two-year hiatus, PSU won in `08
• Penn State won its 14th straight Big Ten title behind a 10-1-0 record
• PSU looks to extend 11-game winning streak, longest since 2005
• Maya Hayes named Big Ten Forward of the Year, league-best 10 Lions on teams
• Four Nittany Lions earned All-Big Ten First Team: Maya Hayes, Lexi Marton, Christine Nairn & Ali Schaefer
• Penn State placed three on All-Big Ten Second Team: Erin McNulty, Taylor Schram & Emma Thomson
• Three Nittany Lions landed on All-Big Ten Freshman Team: Kori Chapic, Emily Hurd & Whitney Church
• Taylor Schram tallied three points on goal and assist vs. Purdue on Friday
• Emily Hurd scored fifth goal of the season against Purdue
• Hayes leads NCAA in goals (25), game-winners (9) and points (58)
• Hayes is riding an eight-game point streak dating back to 9/29 vs. OSU
• Penn State leads the Big Ten in shutouts with 12
• Penn State has tallied 71 assists, a new school record, on 56 goals
GAME NOTES
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Northwestern enters Wednesday's match after dropping a 2-0 game to Michigan State last weekend, the fourth straight loss. During Big Ten play, NU was out-scored 25-5. Kate Allen leads the offense with five goals, while Anna Cassell has seen most of the action between the pipes. Penn State defeated Northwestern earlier this year, 4-0, scoring early and often at Jeffrey Field on Sept. 23. The margin of victory was the largest in favor of the Lions in series history. Penn State leads the all-time series at 18-2.
ALL-BIG TEN HONOREES
Penn State led all Big Ten teams with 10 Nittany Lions to the postseason honors list. Sophomore Maya Hayes was named the conference's Forward of the Year, while earning All-Big Ten First Team honors with Christine Nairn (third time), Lexi Marton (first) and Ali Schaefer (first). Sophomore striker Taylor Schram and goalkeeper Erin McNulty garnered their first All-Big Ten laurels on the second team with Emma Thomson (second). Kori Chapic, Emily Hurd and Whitney Church each were named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team, too.
SENIOR SEND OFF WIN OVER PURDUE
Penn State recognized the six departing graduates of the women's soccer program on Friday night (Oct. 28) with a senior celebration. The Nittany Lions honored Meghan Gill, Carly Niness, Jess Rosenbluth, Ali Schaefer, Emma Thomson and Krissy Tribbett with a pre-game ceremony. Emily Hurd and Taylor Schram tallied second-half goals to overcome the Boilermakers, 2-0. Schram and Maya Hayes each added an assist in PSU's 12th shutout of the year.
HAYES SETTING THE MARK
The Big Ten Offensive, Socer America, and Philly Soccer News Player of the Week (Oct. 25), Hayes now owns the Penn State sophomore record for most goals and points in a season at 25 and 58. Hayes also moved into a tie for second in single-season game-winning goals at Penn State with her ninth this season. She matches Christie Welsh's total from 1999, while sitting four game-winners behind Tiffany Weimer's mark of 13. Hayes needs just one more goal to match Weimer's 2004 mark of 26 and two for Welsh's 1999 showing of 27 goals for third and fourth, respectively, in the single-season chart. Hayes is riding an eight-game point streak dating back to the Ohio State (Sept. 29) match.
DOUBLE DOWN
Penn State's offensive prowess has allowed some interesting new records to be set as well as fun stats to follow. For instance, Taylor Schram's assist at Michigan State allowed her to be the first Nittany Lion to record double-digit goals and assists since Tiffany Weimer in 2004.
NATIONAL SCORING LEADER
Maya Hayes has been on fire all season, scoring 25 times and tallying eight assists through 19 games (Oct. 30) for 58 points. Hayes currently leads NCAA Division I women's soccer in total goals and total points, while sitting one behind for the national lead in game-winnin goals (10, Sarah Hagen of UW-Milwaukee). Hayes's 25 goals have contributed mightily to Penn State's overall offensive success as PSU has poured in 56 goals, fifth per game in NCAA. The 56 tallies are the most since the 2005 season scored 78. More impressive is Hayes when you compare her marks against other teams in the nation.
NATIONAL RANKINGS REVIEW
Penn State moved up in every national poll this week thanks to extending its 11-game winning streak at at home vs. Purdue PSU is up to 11th in the NSCAA poll. SoccerTimes.com moved Penn State up to 10th and Soccer America pegged Penn State at seventh, the ninth straight week the Lions have been in the publication's poll. TopDrawerSoccer.com ranked PSU eighth, while the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) was released for the sixth time this season with the Nittany Lions remained 11th, tops amongst all Big Ten sides and in line for a national seed in the NCAA Tournament.
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 but two of the 56 goals scored by the Nittany Lions helped by an assist. In total, PSU has 71 assists, which leads the Big Ten and is a single-season school record. This year's squad averages 3.55 assists per game. 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. Jess Rosenbluth leads the Big Ten with 10 assists, while Christine Nairn and Schram own nine apiece. Sixteen Nittany Lions have tallied helpers this season including goalkeeper Erin McNulty, who has a Penn State record three assists. McNulty 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.
SCORING STREAK
Sophomore Maya Hayes concluded a career-high seven-game scoring streak in September, 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 15 of her last 19 matches and recently had a six-game streak snapped vs. Purdue.
MONTHLY WINS
Penn State ended October with a perfect 7-0-0 record. The Nittany Lions are 132-22-4 all-time in October for an astounding .848 winning percentage. As for November, Penn State is 58-21-4 all-time (.723). 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 in September to improve to 113-30-13 (.767) all-time.
More notes and stats in the PDF game notes
NEXT TIME OUT
Should Penn State be fortunate to get by Northwestern on Wednesday, the Nittany Lions will face either Minnesota or Wisconsin at 2:15 p.m. ET in the Big Ten semifinals. The match will air live on the Big Ten Network.
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--NITTANY LIONS--