Sept. 20, 2012
Game Notes | |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 11 Penn State women's soccer team (6-2-0, 1-0-0) hits the road this weekend for a pair of Big Ten matchups against Northwestern and Illinois. The Nittany Lions will take on Northwestern on Friday at 8 p.m. and Illinois on Sunday at 2 p.m. Both contests can be viewed via live streams and GameTracker.
Penn State ended a three-year winless stretch against Wisconsin by knocking off the No. 13 Badgers, 2-1, last Sunday afternoon at Jeffrey Field. Freshman Raquel Rodriguez (San Jose, Costa Rica) and junior Maya Hayes (West Orange, N.J.) scored the Nittany Lion goals in the victory. Penn State outshot Wisconsin, 19-14, in the contest. The Nittany Lions improved to 87-3-3 all-time in Big Ten games at Jeffrey Field.
Penn State is currently tied for second in the Big Ten with 23 goals scored and a plus-11 goal differential. Senior midfielder Christine Nairn (Arnold, Md.) currently ranks fourth in the conference in shots (3.88), second in points (2.25), tied for second in goals (7) and tied for sixth in assists (4). As of late, Penn State's defense has been solid, just allowing a total of 31 shots on net, tied for the second best in the conference.
The Wildcats enter Friday's contest with a 4-2-1 overall record and a 0-1-0 mark in Big Ten play. Northwestern opened Big Ten competition last weekend at home, hosting Nebraska, and fell 2-0 to the Huskers, but bounced back with a comeback 1-1 tie against Oakland last Sunday. Kate Allen has been Northwestern's leading goal scorer the last two seasons. Her five goals this season lead the Wildcats. Allen is also amongst the top goal-scorers in the Big Ten as she currently ranks sixth with five goals in nine matches. Sophomore Anna Cassell will start in the net after she returned to the Wildcats last weekend for the first time since Aug. 26 due to injury. Cassell is 2-1-1 on the year and ranks second in the Big Ten with 4.20 saves per game. In five matches, she has made 21 stops.
Penn State holds a commanding 19-2-0 all-time record against Northwestern. The Nittany Lions earned 3-0 and 4-0 victories over the Wildcats last year in the Big Ten Tournament and the regular season respectively. The last time Northwestern defeated Penn State came on Oct. 16, 1998.
Illinois enters this weekend with a 4-3-1 overall record and a 1-0-0 mark in Big Ten play. The Fighting Illini are coming off a 2-1 victory over Iowa as Illinois recorded its second multi-goal game of the season to open Big Ten play. Illinois' win over Iowa was the first official appearance of head coach Janet Rayfield and junior midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo this season after winning the U20 World Cup in Japan with Maya Hayes, Taylor Schram and team USA. DeBernardo scored just four minutes into the Iowa contest for her first goal of the season and the Illini recorded a season-high 28 shots. DiBernardo also joins Christine Nairn and Hayes on the MAC Herman Trophy Watch List. The trio represents the Big Ten Conference on the list.
The Nittany Lions carry a 20-3-0 all-time record against the Fighting Illini. Last season, Penn State split with Illinois. The Illini won the most recent matchup in the 2010 Big Ten Tournament by a count of 2-1. However, Penn State took the regular season matchup by a score of 1-0 at Jeffrey Field.
Following this weekend's trip to the state of Illinois, Penn State will continue its three-game road journey as it travels to Ohio State next Thursday for an 8 p.m. matchup against the Ohio State Buckeyes on the Big Ten Network. The Nittany Lions return home on Sept. 30 as they host the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
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.
Follow Penn State women's soccer on Facebook: www.facebook.com/PSUWomensSoccer.