Nov. 8, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State field hockey team will be making its 26th appearance in the NCAA Tournament this weekend as the Nittany Lions earned an automatic bid after winning the Big Ten Tournament. Penn State will take on the Northeastern Huskies on Saturday, Nov. 12. Penn State will play its first, and possible second round games, in Storrs, Conn. on the UConn campus.
If the Lions were to win, they would face the winner of UConn and Princeton in the second round, which will take place on Nov. 13. Over the past 10 years, the squad has now advanced to the NCAA Tournament eight times and competed in the finals on two occasions.
Penn State (16-5) enters the postseason riding a wave of momentum after winning the Big Ten Tournament this past weekend, defeating Michigan by a score of 3-2 in the championship game. The Lions have captured its last three contests, including victories over fellow NCAA Tournament participants Michigan and Ohio State.
For the first time since 1998, Penn State was crowned Big Ten Tournament champions, after defeating the Michigan Wolverines on Sunday, 3-2, in the tournament championship game. With the score tied up at two, redshirt senior Hannah Allison (Mifflinburg, Pa.) netted the game-winning goal in the second half to seal the victory. Penn State wins its fifth-ever Big Ten Tournament title. The Nittany Lions' previous title came on November 8, 1998, in a 3-1 victory over Michigan.
In addition to Penn State, the Big Ten placed three other teams in the NCAA Tournament. Ohio State will compete against the No. 2 overall seed in Old Dominion, while Michigan will play in North Carolina's grouping and Iowa will play in the Syracuse regional.
North Carolina earned the top seed in the tournament, while Old Dominion, Syracuse and UConn followed respectively. The Final Four will be held at Louisville, beginning on Nov. 18.
Check back to GoPSUsports.com for continued Penn State Field Hockey updates throughout the 2011 season.
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