Oct. 1, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The eighth-ranked Penn State women's soccer team (10-2-0, 5-0-0) continues a three-match homestand with local rival Bucknell on Tuesday night at Jeffrey Field. Penn State will be looking for its sixth consecutive victory and an improvement in its 171-21-6 all-time record at Jeffrey Field.
Penn State is coming off a big 4-3 win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers this past Sunday. The Nittany Lions' four goals came on two apiece from junior Maya Hayes (West Orange, N.J.) and sophomore Whitney Church (Ashburn, Va.). Church's two goals came on corner kicks, each from freshman Raquel Rodriguez (San Jose, Costa Rica). Each time, Rodriguez found Church's head as the sophomore scored her second and third goals of the season.
Bucknell enters Tuesday's game with a 7-5-0 overall record and a 0-1-0 mark in Patriot League play. The Bison are coming off a tough 4-1 loss to the Colgate Raiders this past Saturday to open up Patriot League competition. Despite losing its first two games of the season, Bucknell has won seven of its last 10, including a stretch of five-straight wins between Aug. 26 and Sept. 7. The Bison are outscoring their opponents by a count of 23-18.
The Bison are led by Chelsey Garkowski, who enters Tuesday's contest with 17 points on the year with seven goals and three assists. Courtney Nelson has also played a role in the Bucknell offense, scoring four goals and three assists on the season for 11 total points. Sandita McDermott will get the start in between the pipes. McDermott has started all 12 games for Bucknell this year and has recorded four shutouts to go along with a 1.47 GAA.
Penn State has never lost to Bucknell, sporting a 15-0-1 overall record including last year's 4-0 thumping in Lewisburg. Bucknell held PSU scoreless in a 0-0 draw three years ago, the first result for Bucknell in series history.
Following Tuesday's midweek contest, the Nittany Lions return to Jeffrey Field on Sunday as they host Indiana University at 1 p.m.
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