Nov. 28, 2014
| NCAA TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS | |
|
|
| Sat., Nov. 29 - 7 p.m. CT | |
| Ellis Field | College Station, Texas | |
| NCAA Women's Soccer Championship Guide | |
| GAME DAY LINKS |
TV: ESPN2 -->Live Stream: SEC Network +Live Stats: Live Audio: Sports Radio 1150AM Women's Soccer BlogFollow Us: @PennStateWSOC | Facebook | InstagramGameday Central
Game Notes: Penn State | Texas A&MStatistics: Penn State | Texas A&M
| INSIDE THE NUMBERS | ||
| PSU | TX A&M | |
| 53 | Goals | 68 |
| 2.30 | Goals per Game | 2.72 |
| 342 | Shots | 518 |
| 14.9 | Shots per Game | 20.7 |
| 1-2 | Penalty Kicks | 1-2 |
| 16 | Goals Against | 23 |
| 0.69 | Goals Against Average | 0.90 |
| .810 | Save Percentage | .763 |
| 9 | Shutouts | 9 |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 2-seeded Penn State women's soccer team travels to No. 1-seed Texas A&M for the Nittany Lions' 10th Elite Eight appearance in program history. The teams face off on Sat., Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. (CT).
Live streaming is available to SEC Network subscribers via SEC Network Plus on WatchESPN and ESPN3.com. Live stats are available on GoPSUSports.com and the match will be broadcasted on SportsRadio 1150AM out of College Station, Texas, at http://v6.player.abacast.net/689.
Tickets for the match can be purchased online at AggieAthletics.com, in person at the Kyle Field box office or over the phone at 1-888-99-Aggie. Reserved tickets are $18 (west midfield), $15 (west sideline) or $9 (west goal line). General admission tickets are $7 for adults and $3 for youth and students.
IN THE ELITE EIGHT
The Nittany Lions will appear in their 10th Elite Eight in program history at Texas A&M, boasting a 4-5 record and moving on to the College Cup in 1999, 2002, 2005 and 2012. Penn State topped Hartford 2-0 in 1999, beat UConn in the 2002 quarterfinals, 2-1, in 2005, bested Santa Clara, 2-1, and shut out Duke, 1-0, in 2012.
Penn State's 10 quarterfinal appearances is among the best in the nation. The Nittany Lions have the fourth most Elite Eight appearances of any team in the 2014 field, the most among Big Ten teams all-time and the eighth most all-time since 1982 (28 - UNC; 18 - UConn; 15 - Notre Dame; 14 - Santa Clara, Portland; 13 - UCLA; 12 - Stanford; 11 - Florida State; 10 - Penn State and UMass).
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
Texas A&M's No. 1 seed was well-deserved. In the midst of a 13-match undefeated streak, and seven-match win streak, the Aggies have generated an outstanding offensive attack in the NCAA Tournament. They shut out Houston Baptist, 5-0, in the first round and topped Arizona, 7-2, in the second round. In the third round against Notre Dame, Kelly Monogue scored the 2-1 gamewinner in the 82nd minute. Monogue, who has 44 points on the season, is Texas A&M's active leading scorer in NCAA Tournament play, boasting eight goals. Also leading the Aggies is SEC Offensive Player of the Year and Capital One Academic All-American Shea Groom, who has scored 16 goals with seven assists this year.
SERIES HISTORY vs. TEXAS A&M
The Nittany Lions are undefeated against Texas A&M, going 3-0-2 with three of the matches coming in NCAA postseason action. In their last meeting, the teams tied 1-1 with current Boston Breakers forward Katie Schoepfer scoring Penn State's goal.
SCORE!
In Penn State's 60 NCAA Tournament matches, the team has outscored its opponents, 126-67. The Nittany Lions' 4-1 win over Buffalo on Nov. 14 marked the 12th time in program history the team has scored four-or-more goals in an NCAA Tournament match.
FEELING FRESH
All season, Penn State's 11 freshmen have made huge contributions to the team's success and the postseason has been no exception. Frannie Crouse scored the gamewinner against UConn, the lone goal against the Huskies and improved Penn State's record to 12-0 when a first-year Nittany Lion scores. Against Buffalo, Megan Schafer scored her sixth goal of the season.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Overall, the Nittany Lions are 14-3 in first round games (PSU received byes from the first round in 1998, 1999 and 2000). Penn State is in the midst of a six-game first round win streak. Penn State is a four-time College Cup participant (1999, 2002, 2005, 2012), while advancing to the quarterfinals 10 times, posting a 4-5 record. Penn State has amassed an impressive record of 33-6-1 at Jeffrey Field, out-scoring opponents 98-30 in NCAA Play. Penn State has hosted the first and second rounds in the pod format 11 of the last 14 years. In those 11 seasons in which PSU hosted, the Nittany Lions went 17-2.
APPEARANCES BY ROUND
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME - 2012
COLLEGE CUP - 1999, 2002, 2005, 2012
QUARTERFINALS - 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2012, 2014
THIRD ROUND - 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2014
SECOND ROUND - 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
NCAA TOURNAMENT RECORD
Record | GF | GA | |
Record at Jeffrey Field | 33-6-1 | 98 | 30 |
Away Record | 4-8-0 | 15 | 26 |
Neutral Record | 4-4-1 | 10 | 11 |
Overtime Games | 2-3-2 | 8 | 9 |
SIMPLY THE BEST
Penn State women's soccer maintained its standing as one of the top programs in collegiate soccer this season. The Nittany Lions won their 16th conference title in 17 years, a record unmatched by any Division I program (North Carolina won 13 of 14 ACC titles from 1998-2008). Since the program began in 1994, Penn State has appeared in every Big Ten Tournament and each season from 1995 on, the team competed in the NCAA postseason. In the 21st century, Penn State is the fourth-winningest program, posting 276 victories. North Carolina (311), Notre Dame (295) and UCLA (291) are in the top-3. Texas A&M ranks sixth with 261 wins.
PARK AVENUE PROTECTORS
The Nittany Lions take home field advantage to the next level. After sweeping the first three rounds of the NCAA Tournament at Jeffrey Field, the women's soccer team moved to 202-22-9 all-time at The Jeff, losing just two matches in the past three seasons and shutting out visitors in 20 of 40 matches. Additionally, the team's 4-1 victory over Buffalo marked the 200th win at Jeffrey Field.
CAREER CLOUT
Penn State's sustained success isn't possible without the leadership of its upperclassmen, evident in the program's career lists. Two-time Big Ten Defender of the Year Whitney Church (Ashburn, Virginia) has played the most minutes of any Nittany Lion (8,153), and Kori Chapic's (Russell, Ohio) 7,439 minutes on the pitch is second. Emily Hurd (Sammamish, Washington) ranks seventh in career assists (28) and sixth in minutes played (6,194), while Mallory Weber (Novi, Michigan) has taken the seventh-most shots on goal (71) and scored the 10th-most gamewinners (10). A mainstay in goal for the Blue and White is Britt Eckerstrom (Germantown, Maryland), with spots on nearly every career goalkeeping list. In just her junior season, she's second in games played (57), third in wins (39), fifth in saves (183), goalkeeper minutes played (4,494) and goalkeeper games started (49) and sixth in shutouts (12.6) and goals against average (0.84).
SOCIAL MEDIA
For complete coverage of Penn State women's soccer, please visit http://www.GoPSUsports.com/sports/w-soccer. Follow PSU women's soccer on Twitter and Instagram: @PennStateWSOC. Penn State women's soccer is also on Facebook: www.facebook.com/PSUWomensSoccer.