Aug. 7, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's soccer team will open its 19th season ranked ninth in the first national poll according to the NSCAA preseason rankings, which were released on Tuesday afternoon. A total of four Penn State opponents in 2012 cracked the preseason poll, including defending national champion and No. 1-ranked Stanford.
Penn State, which finished eighth in the polls last December, has earned votes in every year-end poll since the program's inception in 1994. The Nittany Lions are in search of their 15th straight Big Ten title and 18th NCAA Tournament appearance this fall. Penn State has finished a season ranked in 15 of 18 years, including 11 times that it has been ranked in the top 10. The eighth-place ranking for Penn State last year was the highest in the five-year tenure of head coach Erica Walsh.
Joining Stanford in the polls are Nittany Lion non-conference opponents Virginia (7th) and West Virginia (20th). Penn State will travel to Virginia in the season opener on August 17th with a 7 p.m. start time. The Lions will compete at West Virginia two weeks later on August 31st.
As for Big Ten opponents, Illinois (19th) has the second highest ranking in the conference. Rival Ohio State is receiving votes.
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.
The Nittany Lions host Villanova in an exhibition this Saturday at 7 p.m. 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.
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