Aug. 23, 2012
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Sixth ranked Penn State Women's Soccer (2-0-0) hosts the Penn State Invitational this weekend, which features four contests including Friday's highly anticipated matchup between the Nittany Lions and No. 1 Stanford at Jeffrey Field. The Nittany Lions contest with Stanford is set for a 7:30 p.m. kick time and will air live on the Big Ten Network. Admission and parking for all Penn State soccer games is free.
Parking Advisory: Fans attending Friday night's games are advised to use the grass lots adjacent to Jeffrey Field for parking. This lot can be accessed from the Park Avenue entrance next to Beaver Stadium West Lot. There is a State College Spikes game going on that same night at nearby Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, which charges $3, but Penn State Invitational fans are not subject to this. Tell the parking attendant you are attending the soccer matches and you will be able to park for free in the grass lot.
Fans in attendance on Friday will receive a free Penn State Women's Soccer rally towel, while supplies last. Also, the 2012 team poster will be available to all fans.
Penn State welcomes the Cardinal from Stanford, West Virginia and Central Michigan. Friday's slate of games will begin at 5 p.m. as Central Michigan takes on West Virginia. The Penn State-Stanford match on the BTN will immediately follow. Following an off day on Saturday, West Virginia and Stanford will square off at noon on Sunday, followed by Penn State and Central Michigan at 2:30 p.m.
Penn State is coming off two big wins last weekend, which included a 3-1 upset victory at No. 7 Virginia. In last Friday's win at the Cavaliers, Penn State ended a 21-game home-opening winning streak for Virginia. Freshman Mallory Weber (Novi, Mich.) was dangerous from the get-go and eventually scored two second half goals, including the game-winner at the 75-minute mark. Redshirt junior Tani Costa (Honolulu, Hawaii), who is coming off a torn ACL last year, scored Penn State's first goal of the 2012 season in the first half. With Penn State leading at the 75-minute mark, Virginia's Makenzy Doniak scored on a header off a corner kick to tie the game up at one. Just 22 seconds later, Weber capitalized on a breakaway goal, with the assist coming from senior Christine Nairn (Arnold, Md.) to give the Lions the lead right back. Nairn played a beautiful thru ball, which was ripped by Webber to the lower right corner from 18 yards out. Weber would add another goal at the 87-minute mark to make it 3-1.
In last Sunday's 5-0 win over the Red Storm, Penn State used two early first half goals from Nairn to secure a 5-0 victory. In addition to Nairn's two goals, senior Maddy Evans (Glenside, Pa.) scored on a penalty kick in the 20th minute and redshirt sophomore Emily Hurd (Sammamish, Wash.) scored in the 23rd minute to give the Nittany Lions a 4-0 advantage. Freshman Raquel Rodriquez (San Jose, Costa Rica) gave Penn State a five-goal lead as she netted her first career goal in the 52nd minute.
The defending national champion Stanford Cardinal visits Happy Valley for the first time ever this Friday. The top-ranked Cardinal are coming off a 6-1 victory against Santa Clara last Friday. Stanford scored all six goals in the second half. Natalie Griffin led the way against Santa Clara last weekend, scoring two goals. Courtney Verloo and Laura Liedle each tallied two assists in the win as well. Stanford was 25-0-1 last season and cruised to its first ever NCAA Title. Stanford is ranked No. 1 in the NSCAA poll, marking the fourth consecutive season that Stanford has been ranked No. 1. The Cardinal also is No. 1 by Top Drawer Soccer and No. 2 by Soccer America.
This will be just the second matchup between the Nittany Lions and Stanford. Last season, Penn State fell short in its upset bid of the then-No. 2 ranked Cardinal in a 4-0 loss in Palo Alto. The Cardinal tallied four goals in the final 45:33 of the contest. Penn State is 5-3 all-time against Pac 12 opponents.
Central Michigan enters this weekend with a 1-0-0 record after winning its opener at Detroit by a score of 1-0. Kaely Schlosser scored Central Michigan's lone goal that was assisted by Jennifer Gassman. They were picked to finish second in the MAC this year. This will be the first ever matchup between the Chippewas and Nittany Lions.
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