Oct. 5, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The fourth-ranked Penn State women's soccer (11-2-0, 5-0-0) team will close out a three-match homestand with the Indiana Hoosiers on Sunday at Jeffrey Field. The Nittany Lions will be looking for their seventh consecutive victory and an improvement to their 88-3-3 all-time record at Jeffrey Field against Big Ten opponents.
Penn State is one of two unbeaten teams (Michigan is 4-0-1) remaining in the Big Ten as it looks for its 15th-straight Big Ten title in 2012. Penn State moved up four spots in the NSCAA National Coaches Poll this week. In addition, the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) was released for the second time this season on Monday, with the Nittany Lions remaining in third, tops amongst all Big Ten sides. Stanford, who clipped Penn State at home by a score of 3-2 on Aug. 24, is No. 1.
The Nittany Lions are coming off a 3-1 victory over the Bucknell Bison on Tuesday evening at Jeffrey Field. The Nittany Lions used a first half goal from freshman Raquel Rodriguez (San Jose, Costa Rica) and two second half goals from junior Maya Hayes (West Orange, N.J.) in the victory. Hayes' multi-goal game was her second straight, after freshly coming off Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week accolades. Rodriguez' goal was her third of the season and her third-straight multi-point game.
This past Sunday, Penn State defeated the Minnesota Golden Gophers by a score of 4-3. The Nittany Lions' four goals came on two apiece from junior Hayes and sophomore Whitney Church (Ashburn, Va.). Church's two goals came on corner kicks, each from Rodriguez. Each time, Rodriguez found Church's head as the sophomore scored her second and third goals of the season.
The Hoosiers enter Sunday's contest with a 6-6-1 overall record and a 1-4 mark in conference play. Indiana is coming off a 1-0 victory over the Northwestern Wildcats on Sept. 30, its first Big Ten victory of the season. The other common opponent that the Hoosiers have faced is the Illinois Fighting Illini, who beat Indiana by a count of 2-1 in Bloomington on Sept. 28. Through 13 games, the cream and crimson have outscored their opponents 22-20.
Indiana has three players in its lineup that have recorded double digits in points this season. Rebecca Candler leads the team with 14 points coming on four goals and six assists. Lisa Nouanesengsy is the team leader in goals with six and Orianica Velasquez is also in double-digits for points with 10, coming on three goals and four assists. Shannon Flower is the projected starter in net for the Hoosiers, posting a 1.63 GAA this season in 994 minutes of action.
Penn State has completely dominated the all-time series against the Hoosiers with a 19-1-1 overall record including a string of 17 straight unbeaten. At Jeffrey Field, the Nittany Lions boast a 10-0-0 record. Head coach Erica Walsh is 5-0-0 all-time against Indiana, who have been out-scored 48-14 by the Nittany Lions in the series, including last year's 3-0 victory Bloomington.
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