Aug. 5, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) will offer two opportunities this fall for individuals to attend a special topic course, "Reading the Game", at a Penn State soccer game. The first opportunity will come on August 24, as the Penn State women's soccer team hosts defending national champion Stanford. The second chance to attend the course will come on Sept. 29, as Penn State men's soccer hosts Indiana.
Check in for the first session on August 24 will begin at 4:15 p.m. at Jeffrey Field. Head women's soccer coach Erica Walsh will have a pregame discussion with participants beginning at 4:45 p.m. At 5:30 p.m., the session will turn to tactics for match preparation and match analysis. Kickoff for the Stanford game will be at 7:30 p.m. and there will be discussions at halftime and postgame. A question and answer session with Walsh will take place after the game.
The Sept. 29 session with the men's soccer game against Indiana will begin with check in at 3:45 p.m. at Jeffrey Field. Head men's soccer coach Bob Warming will host a pregame discussion at 4:15 p.m. Match preparation and match analysis will be discussed from 5-6 p.m. The Nittany Lions' contest with Indiana will begin at 7 p.m., with discussions at halftime and postgame. Warming will also host a question and answer session following the game.
Anybody interested in attending one or both days can either register online or via mail. Please visit the NSCAA website to register or send in the form that you can find at the top of this page. The cost for registration is $60.
The 14-time defending Big Ten champion women's team will open the 2012 regular season on Fri., August 17 when it travels to ACC-power Virginia. One week later, on Fri., August 24, the Lions will host defending National Champion Stanford at Jeffrey Field at 7:30 p.m. Penn State returns the majority of it scoring from last year's Sweet Sixteen squad as 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) lead the Lion offense.
Warming's squad returns 13 letterwinners and eight starters from last season's team that advanced to the Big Ten Tournament title game for the third consecutive year, broke the Penn State record for shutouts in a season, and led the conference in goals allowed and goals against average. Among the returnees are the team's top three scorers in Minh Vu (Tucson, Ariz.), the 2011 Big Ten Tournament Offensive MVP, Julian Cardona (Lincoln, Neb.), and Hasani Sinclair (Coral Gables, Fla.) and the anchor of the PSU defense, goalkeeper Andrew Wolverton (Snellville, Ga.). The Nittany Lion roster will also be bolstered by a talented group of newcomers which includes six freshmen and four transfers.