Sept. 28, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The eighth-ranked Penn State women's soccer team returns to Happy Valley this Sunday at noon as it plays host to Minnesota. It will be Military Appreciation Day and Dollar Dog Day. The Nittany Lions will be auctioning off a signed Parade of Champions t-shirt and there will be a free postgame autograph session after the game. Admission and parking to all Penn State soccer games is free.
Fans can follow Sunday's game by watching a live stream on BTN.com, brought to you by the "Student U" production. In addition, fans can get updates through GameTracker and Twitter (@PennStateWSOC).
The Nittany Lions picked up a 3-0 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes on Thursday night at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. Penn State used two first half goals from redshirt junior Tani Costa (Honolulu, Hawaii) and junior Maya Hayes (West Orange, N.J.) and a nice second half goal from senior Christine Nairn (Arnold, Md.) to secure the victory.
Redshirt freshman Britt Eckerstrom (Germantown, Md.) was great in net, earning her first career shutout in just her second career start. Eckerstrom made nine saves as the Buckeyes applied pressure all night. Ohio State entered Thursday night's contest giving up a total of just five goals, as Penn State scored over half of that total.
The Gophers enter Sunday with a 7-5-0 overall record and a 2-2-0 mark in Big Ten play after earning a big 3-2 victory over Wisconsin on Thursday night. The Gophers have outscored their opponents by a score of 26-14. Minnesota has now won its last two Big Ten matches, as it also earned a 1-0 victory over Michigan State last Sunday. Previously, the Golden Gophers dropped contests to Ohio State and Michigan. Earlier in the season, Minnesota played No. 1-ranked Florida State tough, dropping its match to the Seminoles by a score of 3-2.
Taylor Uhl leads the way for the Golden Gophers with 31 points coming on 12 goals and seven assists. Katie Thyken and Allie Phillips each have four assists, which is tied for second on the team. Cat Parkhill will start between the pipes for Minnesota, allowing 1.15 goals per contest.
Penn State has dominated Minnesota winning the past six games and 17 of 18 overall dating back to 1997. Last season, Penn State earned two victories over the Golden Gophers last season, which included a 3-1 victory in the Big Ten Semifinals in Evanston, Ill.
The Minnesota game will be the first of a three-match homestand for the Nittany Lions. Penn State host Bucknell on Tuesday at 7 p.m. and Indiana on Sunday at 1 p.m.
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.