Oct. 14, 2015
| PENN STATE VS. PURDUE | |
| Thursday, Oct. 15 - 7 p.m. ET | |
| Boilermaker Soccer Complex | West Lafayette, Ind. | |
| GAME DAY LINKS |
TV: ESPN2 -->BTN Plus on BTN2Go |Women's Soccer BlogFollow Us: @PennStateWSOC | Facebook | InstagramGameday Central
Game Notes: Penn State | PurdueStatistics: Penn State | Purdue
| PENN STATE VS. RUTGERS | |
| Sunday, Oct. 18 - 1 p.m. ET | |
| Yurcak Field | Piscataway, N.J. | |
| GAME DAY LINKS |
TV: ESPN2 -->BTN Plus on BTN2Go |Women's Soccer BlogFollow Us: @PennStateWSOC | Facebook | InstagramGameday Central
Game Notes: Penn State | RutgersStatistics: Penn State | Rutgers
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's soccer team begins a three-game road trip Thursday at Purdue. The Nittany Lions and Boilermakers meet Thursday night, Oct. 15, at the Boilermaker Soccer Complex at 7 p.m. The road trip continues for Penn State against Rutgers on Sunday, Oct. 18, at 1 p.m., at Yurcak Field. Both matches can be streamed via BTN Plus on BTN2Go.
FOLLOW ALONG
Both matches will be shown via BTN Plus on BTN2Go.
Live stats and live video links can be found on GoPSUsports.com.
SCOUTING PURDUE (7-6-1, 2-4-1)
Purdue is coming off a 0-0 tie against No. 23 Rutgers at home on Oct. 11.
Maddy Williams leads the Purdue offense with seven goals, while Hannah Leinert leads the team in assists (five).
Williams and Leinert lead the team with 18 and 17 points, respectively.
Erika Yohn has played in net for 1047:14 minutes this season. She has made 48 saves and allowed 18 goals.
During non-conference play, Purdue tallied a record of 5-2.
Currently, the Boilermakers have a record of 6-2-1 at home.
SCOUTING RUTGERS (10-2-2, 3-2-2)
Before the match against Penn State, Rutgers hosts Ohio State on Thursday night.
Rutgers enters the weekend coming off a scoreless draw at Purdue.
The Scarlet Knights opened the 2015 season with eight-straight shutouts, including a 2-0 win over No. 20 UConn at home on Sept. 13.
Five members of the Rutgers squad have scored at least two goals, including three student-athletes with three goals each.
Casey Murphy has been in net all year for Rutgers and has tallied 11 shutouts. She has made 44 saves and only conceded four goals on the year.
200 CAPS
Against Nebraska, Erica Walsh made her 200th appearance as the head coach of the Nittany Lion women's soccer team.
In her time as the Nittany Lion head coach, Walsh has tallied an overall record of 145-49-10 (.735).
AMONG THE BEST OF THE B1G
Senior Mallory Weber has established herself as one of the top forwards in the Big Ten this season.
Among the Big Ten leaders, Weber ranks in the top-five in points, goals, assists, points per game, goals per game and assists per game.
As a team, the Nittany Lions lead the Big Ten in points, assists, goals per game and assists per game.
Penn State is also tied with Michigan for the conference lead with 31 goals apiece.
BIG TEN TITLE RACE
With four matches left in the Big Ten regular season, four teams are separated by two points.
Minnesota leads the pack with 18 points, followed by Michigan, Penn State and Wisconsin with 16 points apiece.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
The Nittany Lion underclassmen have accounted for 21 of the 31 goals scored this season and 18 of the 29 assists.
The Nittany Lion backline, comprised of one redshirt sophomore, one sophomore and two freshmen, have only allowed nine goals on the season.
STANDING TALL
The Nittany Lions are coming off their third-straight shutout win. Penn State has not allowed a goal in the last 333:13 minutes of play.
Earlier this season, Penn State posted a mark of 384:19 minutes without allowing a goal.
BALANCED ATTACK
Eleven Nittany Lions have tallied goals in the 2015 campaign, which includes six Nittany Lions with multiple goals.
The Penn State attack is led by Frannie Crouse (six goals), Megan Schafer (seven goals) and Mallory Weber (seven goals).
NATIONAL HONORS
Brittany Basinger and Frannie Crouse were honored nationally for their performances against No. 2 Stanford and Santa Clara.
Basinger was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week, while Crouse was named the espnW Player of the Week.
Along with the espnW Player of the Week honors, Crouse received honors from the Big Ten.
Crouse was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, Britt Eckerstrom was tabbed as the Co-Defensive Player of the Week and Kaleigh Riehl received Freshman of the Week honors.
Following the Northwestern victory, Elizabeth Ball was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week for her defensive efforts.
Ball was also named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week following a pair of shutout victories over Maryland (1-0) and Indiana (4-0).
USUAL SUSPECTS
Eight Nittany Lions have started all 14 matches this season for the Blue and White.
Out of 1300 minutes, seven Nittany Lions have played at least 1077 minutes (82 percent).
ACTIVE LEADERS
Among active student-athletes in the NCAA, Mallory Weber is tied for fourth in games played (86), ranks 14th in points (93), tied for 14th in assists (23) and she is also one of 10 student-athletes to have tallied 30 goals and 20 assists.
Also in the active leaderboards, Raquel Rodriguez is tied for 11th with her 25 assists.
CAPTAIN CLUTCH
After posting a five-point weekend against Hofstra and LMU during the first weekend of the season, senior Mallory Weber followed up her performance with a three-point weekend against Duke and Arkansas.
Weber, held pointless against the No. 21 Duke Blue Devils, notched a goal and an assist in a 4-2 win over Arkansas.
Weber has tallied three game-winning goals this season.
All-time at Penn State, Weber ranks 10th in goals (35) and 11th in points (93).
EXTRA TIME
In the hard fought double overtime match against the No. 21 Duke Blue Devils on Aug. 28, seven Nittany Lions played the full 110 minutes.
POUNCING FIRST
During the first 14 matches of the season, the Nittany Lions have out-scored their opponents 13-4 in the first 45 minutes of play and they have out-shot the opposition, 117-45.
38 IN A ROW
With her 14 starts in the 2015 season, sophomore Emily Ogle has started all 38 matches of her Nittany Lion career.
THE POLLS
The Penn State women's soccer team currently ranks second in the NCAA RPI, fifth in the TopDrawerSoccer Poll, ninth in the NSCAA Coaches' Poll and 10th in the Soccer America Top-25 Poll.
BACK-TO-BACK NO. 2 CLASSES
According to TopDrawerSoccer, the Nittany Lions have signed the number two recruiting class in the last two years. The 2014 class featured the 2014 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Emily Ogle and Frannie Crouse, who led the Nittany Lions with 10 goals. The 2015 class features nine newcomers, including eight freshmen and one transfer.
SWEET 16
Penn State's regular season Big Ten title last year was the 16th in program history. The Nittany Lions have won 16 out of the last 17 titles. Since 1992-93, the 16 Big Ten titles won by women's soccer is tied for third for the most titles won by any one women's sport program in the Big Ten (Penn State women's volleyball).
PRESEASON FAVORITES
According to the 2015 Big Ten Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Penn State women's soccer team was selected to finish first. The Nittany Lions have sat atop the Big Ten preseason poll every season since the poll began in 2003.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Three players from each Big Ten team were named Big Ten Women's Soccer Preseason Players to Watch, with seniors Britt Eckerstrom, Raquel Rodriguez and Mallory Weber representing the Nittany Lion Blue and White. This is Rodriguez's third-straight appearance on the Preseason Players to Watch list.
HOME SWEET HOME
Jeffery Field has been a tough place for opponents to play as the Nittany Lions boast an all-time record of 210-24-10 at home.
In Big Ten play at Jeffrey Field, the Nittany Lions own a record of 112-6-4. The Nittany Lions have tallied seven undefeated seasons at Jeffrey Field.
#PACKTHEJEFF
In their season-opening homestand, the Nittany Lions drew two top-10 crowds in program history.
In the season-opener, 3,175 fans made their way to Jeffrey Field to cheer on the Nittany Lions. At the time, that was fourth-largest crowd to attend a women's soccer match at Jeffrey Field.
A week later, against No. 21 Duke, 4,207 fans packed Jeffrey Field for the second-largest crowd in program history.
As of Oct. 13, Penn State ranks sixth in average attendance (1,869) in the NCAA.
PRESEASON HONORS
TopDrawerSoccer.com released its Women's College Preseason Best XI with three Nittany Lions making the list. Senior midfielder Raquel Rodriguez was named to the second team, sophomore midfielder Emily Ogle was named to the third team and defender Kaleigh Riehl was named to the freshmen team.
Five Nittany Lions were named to TopDrawerSoccer's Preseason Top-100 Player Rankings. Rodriguez and Ogle are ranked 13th and 27th, respectively. Frannie Crouse (61st), Mallory Weber (67th) and Maddie Elliston (71st) are ranked in the top-75.
WATCH OUT FOR ROCKY
Senior midfielder Raquel Rodriguez was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, as announced by the NSCAA in early August.
The 28 candidates named to the watch list in August will be narrowed down throughout the season with the winner being announced on Jan. 8, 2016.
#PSWS IN THE #2015WWC
The Penn State women's soccer program was represented by five Nittany Lions representing three countries in the 2015 Women's World Cup.
Former Penn State women's soccer players, Ali Krieger '06 and Alyssa Naeher '09 became the first Nittany Lions to win a World Cup as part of a senior national team as they helped the U.S. to a 5-2 victory over Japan in the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup final.
Carmelina Moscato '05 and Erin McLeod '05 helped Canada to reach the quarterfinal round before being eliminated by England. The pair helped the host country to advance out of Group A and defeat Switzerland in the Round of 16.
Raquel Rodriguez won't forget about the summer of 2015 for quite some time.
During the summer of 2015, Rodriguez represented her home country of Costa Rica in the Women's World Cup.
In Costa Rica's debut at the Women's World Cup, Costa Rican and Penn State women's soccer history was made just 74 seconds after Spain scored its first World Cup goal. In the 14th minute, Rodriguez received a cross in the box from Lixy Rodriguez, and she lobbed in a left footed shot at the right post for the 1-1 equalizer. Rodriguez's goal was her 24th as a member of Costa Rican's Women's National Team, a team-best.
OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN!
Seniors Britt Eckerstrom, Raquel Rodriguez and Mallory Weber have been named team captains for the 2015 season.
A three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, Eckerstrom, a red-shirt senior, sits second among Penn State goalkeepers with 57 games played and her 39 career wins is tied for third.
Rodriguez, the 2014 Big Ten Midfielder of the Year, a NSCAA Scholar All-America pick, NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region first team member and Academic All-Big Ten honoree, posted 17 points in 18 games played.
Weber, also an Academic All-Big Ten selection, tied for the team lead with 22 points last season, scoring eight goals and dishing out six assists.
HOMETOWN TIES
Senior Megan Ritchey and freshman Taylor Campbell-Phipps didn't have to travel a long distance as they made the transition from high school to college.
Both Ritchey and Campbell-Phipps call State College, Pa., home as they both attended State College Area high school.
WATCH THE LIONS ON BTN
The Penn State women's soccer team will make one appearance on BTN (Sept. 17 vs. Wisconsin), but will be featured seven times on BTNPlus on BTN2GO.
The Nittany Lions are featured on BTN Plus on BTN2Go in three-straight matches when they take on Minnesota, Sept. 20 at Jeffrey Field before traveling to Nebraska, Sept. 25, and Iowa, Sept. 27.
Penn State returns to BTN Plus on BTN2Go for four-straight matches against Purdue, Oct. 15, Rutgers, Oct. 18, and Ohio State, Oct. 24. Finally, the Nittany Lions will close out the regular season Wednesday, Oct. 28 against Michigan at Jeffrey Field.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Keep up with the Nittany Lions on Facebook (PennStateWomensSoccer), Instagram (PennStateWSOC) and Twitter (PennStateWSOC).
UP NEXT
Penn State concludes its three-game road trip in Columbus, Ohio, against Ohio State on Oct. 24.