Nov. 10, 2011
NCAA First Round vs. Army: | FREE GoPSUsports.com All-Access Video
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The fourth-seeded and 13th-ranked Nittany Lion women's soccer teams hosts Army on Friday in an NCAA First Round clash at Jeffrey Field, kicking off at 7:00 p.m. Penn State kicks-off the Blue Out Weekend, while looking to earn passage to the second round for the 13th time in the past 14 tournaments. GoPSUsports.com will be providing FREE live streaming of the match through All-Access along with live stats through GameTracker.
#13 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (19-4-0)
vs.
ARMY BLACK KNIGHTS (12-3-5)
Game #24: Nov. 11, 2011 | 7:00 p.m. ET | Jeffrey Field | University Park, Pa.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets will be sold at the Bryce Jordan Center Ticket Office during normal business hours (Tuesday-Friday, 10:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.).
General admission tickets will also be sold on site, beginning one hour prior to the match on Friday, for $8 apiece. Students and children will be admitted for $5, while Penn State students showing valid ID will be free. The Nittany Lion Women's Soccer Booster Club will help purchase the tickets for attending PSU students, who will receive two Code Blue points for attending the game.
A group rate for 15 or more fans will be $3 per person. Faculty and staff of Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics can use their complimentary passes for free entry to the match by visiting the BJC.
MATCH DAY
VENUE: Jeffrey Field (Grass; 5,000)
COVERAGE: GoPSUsports.com All-Access
SERIES RECORD: 0-0-0
LAST MEETING: n/a
NEXT GAME: Nov. 18, Possible NCAA Tournament Second Round
MATCH STORIES
• Nittany Lions take on Army in PSU's 17th straight NCAA Tournament appearance
• Lions earned No. 4 seed, second time in three years PSU is seeded
• Penn State and Army have never met on the women's soccer field
• Army won the Patriot League Tournament over Navy and Colgate as a four-seed
• Winner of Friday's match plays Marquette or Toledo, most likely at Wake Forest
• PSU is coming off first loss in 14 matches, 2-1 to Illinois in Big Ten Final
• Jess Rosenbluth and Emma Thomson named to Big Ten All-Tournament Team
• Head Coach Erica Walsh is 7-7-0 all-time in NCAA Tournament
• Maya Hayes leads NCAA in total goals (27) and total points (62)
• Hayes tied for second in PSU single-season goals with Christie Welsh
• Maya Hayes and Jess Rosenbluth named to Academic All-District First Team
• Penn State leads the Big Ten in shutouts with 13
• Penn State has tallied 77 assists, besting the school record by 9, on 63 goals
MATCH NOTES
SCOUTING THE BLACK KNIGHTS
Army (12-3-5) is among one of the best defensive teams in the country and represents the Patriot League's automatic qualifier. The Black Knights rank second nationally in shutout percentage, third in save percentage (.914) and eighth in goals-against average (0.43). The Knights posted 15 shutouts in 20 contests this year, but struggled to score at times as well, being shut out five times, including four 0-0 ties. Monica Lee has played every minute in net, while Kim An leads the Army offense with 10 goals and 21 points. An is helped out by Joey Molacek who has five goals and three assists for 13 points in 2011. Lee's goalkeeping numbers are helped by the oustanding defensive play of sophomore Molly McGuidan, who is a two-time Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year. McGuidan has started in every game in her career, helping the Knights to 31 shutouts in two seasons.
Army is making just its third appearance in the NCAA Tournament, but its second in the four years. It's the first showing to the Big Dance during head coach Stefanie Golan's stint of the Army squad. The Black Knights won the PL in 2008 and faced Virginia, falling 2-0 in Charlottesville.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Penn State is appearing in its 17th straight NCAA Tournament when it takes on Army. The Nittany Lions have made three College Cups, while reaching the Quarterfinals on eight occasions and the third round nine times. Penn State will be hosting its 31st NCAA game on Jeffrey Field and boasts a terrific 24-6-0 all-time record. The last time Penn State faced a Patriot League foe on Jeffrey was in 2009 when the Lions defeated Colgate, 5-0. PSU is 4-0-0 all-time against the Patriot League in the NCAA Tournament, out-scoring those teams 19-1. Additionally, Penn State is 7-2-0 all-time at home in the first round having won the past seven in a row.
ILLINI SNAP 13-GAME WINNING STREAK
No. 11 Penn State fought a tough No. 18 Illinois team and a strong wind, falling to the Illini, 2-1, in overtime at Lakeside Field in the Big Ten Tournament Final Sunday evening (Nov. 6). Maya Hayes tallied her 27th goal of the year with a terrific combo play from Christine Nairn and Taylor Schram. Emma Thomson and Jess Rosenbluth were named to the All-Tournament Team.
ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT II HONOREES
Senior midfielder Jess Rosenbluth and sophomore forward Maya Hayes were voted to the Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District II First Team on Friday (Nov. 4). Senior midfielder Ali Schaefer made the Second Team to round out the Penn State contingent. Rosenbluth and Hayes are both eligible for Academic All-America honors.
NITTANY LIONS SETTING THE MARKS
The Big Ten Forward of the Year, Hayes now owns the Penn State sophomore record for most goals and points in a season at 26 and 60. Hayes also moved into a tie for second in single-season game-winning goals at Penn State with her ninth this season. She matched 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 claim second by herself in single-season goals, sitting five behind Weimer's 2005 mark of 32. Hayes was riding a nine-game point streak dating back to the Ohio State (Sept. 29) match, but had it snapped vs. Minnesota on Nov. 4. Along with Hayes, Taylor Schram is in second in sophomore assists (12), while Jess Rosenbluth is second in assists by a senior (10). Schram's 12 helpers puts her tied for fourth in a single-season in the category.
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.
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 four of the 63 Nittany Lion goals helped by an assist. In total, PSU has 77 assists, which leads the Big Ten and is a single-season school record. This year's squad averages 3.35 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. Taylor Schram leads the Big Ten with 11 assists, while Jess Rosenbluth and Christine Nairn each have 10. 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.
NATIONAL SCORING LEADER
Maya Hayes has been on fire all season, scoring 27 times and tallying eight assists through 23 games (Nov. 6) for 62 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-winning goals (10, Sarah Hagen of UW-Milwaukee). Hayes's 27 goals have contributed mightily to Penn State's overall offensive success as PSU has poured in 63 goals, fifth per game in NCAA. The 63 tallies are the most since the 2005 season scored 78. More impressive is Hayes when you compare her scoring average (1.17 per game) against other teams in the nation, as she leads over 120 other Division I squads.
NATIONAL RANKINGS REVIEW
Penn State is featured in every national poll this week thanks to superb play through out the year. Penn State ranks 13th in the NSCAA poll. Soccer America pegged Penn State at 16th, the 10th straight week the Lions have been in the publication's poll. TopDrawerSoccer.com ranked PSU 16, while the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) was released for the seventh time this season with the Nittany Lions moved down to 13th, tops amongst all Big Ten sides. Penn State is the second highest No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament according to the RPI behind Memphis (fifth).
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 16 of her last 21 matches and recently had a six-game streak snapped vs. Purdue.
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.
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 60-22-4 all-time (.721). 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, including updated bios, are in the PDF game notes
NEXT TIME OUT
Should Penn State advance to the NCAA Second Round, the Nittany Lions will face the winner of the Marquette-Toledo match, taking place Friday night in Milwaukee, Wis. The site of that match is undetermined, but if Wake Forest defeats Oakland, the Demon Decons will host the second and third rounds.
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--NITTANY LIONS--