Aug. 10, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 9 Nittany Lion women's soccer team will make its 2012 debut on Saturday evening when it hosts Villanova in an exhibition contest at Jeffrey Field. The match, which is the first Penn State athletic event of the 2012-13 season, is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. Admission and parking for all Penn State soccer games is free.
Sixth-year head coach Erica Walsh and the Nittany Lions return the majority of their offensive core from last year's Sweet Sixteen squad. 2011 MAC Hermann Trophy Finalist Maya Hayes (West Orange, N.J.), two-time NSCAA All-American Christine Nairn (Arnold, Md.), Emily Hurd (Sammamish, Wash.) and Taylor Schram (Canonsburg, Pa.) tallied 52 goals and 38 assists (142 points) to lead a potent Penn State offensive attack in 2011.
Hayes and Schram were selected for the U.S. Under-20 National Team, which will be competing in the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup later this month. The Nittany Lion duo completed training in Bradenton, Fla. on July 30 before being officially selected to head coach Steve Swanson's squad. Hayes and Schram will miss the beginning portion of the season because of their U.S. National Team obligations, but are expected to return to the Penn State program no later than Sept. 16 as the Nittany Lions host Wisconsin in their Big Ten opener.
Additionally, the Lions will welcome back All-Big Ten Second Team goalkeeper Erin McNulty (Winnipeg, Manitoba) for her final year of eligibility. Also back is NSCAA All-Great Lakes and All-Big Ten First Team defender Lexi Marton (Aurora, Ontario) as well as All-Big Ten Freshman Team honorees Kori Chapic (Novelty, Ohio), Whitney Church (Ashburn, Va.) and Hurd.
Villanova is led by its Big East preseason goalkeeper of the year Jami Kranich, who was named to the U.S. roster for the U-20 World Cup. The Wildcats have seven returning starters from last season, when they finished with an 8-9-2 overall record and a 4-7-0 mark in Big East action. The Wildcats got off to a strong start last season, going 4-0-2 through its first six games, which included a win over a nationally-ranked West Virginia squad that had won 17 consecutive league games.
The Nittany Lions lead the Wildcats 4-2-0 overall in a series that dates back to 1994, the first year of Penn State's program. The last meeting between the pair was in 2006 and resulted in a 2-0 second round NCAA win for the Lions. The two teams met in a 2010 exhibition clash at Villanova as PSU prevailed 5-1.
Fans can follow all of the action of the Penn State-Villanova match-up via Facebook and Twitter updates.
Penn State head coaches Erica Walsh and Bob Warming and their teams will co-host an afternoon of soccer activities the next day, August 12 at 2 p.m. to officially kick off the 2012 season. Scheduled events, all of which are free to the public, include a youth clinic and an autograph session. Any kids in eighth grade or younger are invited to attend. The clinic will be a formal and fun time for youths to meet the team and receive instruction from two of the foremost coaches in collegiate soccer and their staffs.
Penn State opens its regular season schedule on Friday, Aug.17 when it travels to Virginia for a 7 p.m. contest. The Nittany Lions will return to Jeffrey Field on Aug. 19 as they host St. John's at 2:30 p.m. Defending national champion and preseason No. 1 Stanford comes to town on Aug. 24 for a 7:30 kick time, which will be aired live on the Big Ten Network.
For complete coverage of Penn State women's soccer, please visit http://www.GoPSUsports.com/sports/w-soccer.
Follow Penn State women's soccer on Twitter: @PennStateWSOC.
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