Nov. 12, 2015
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's soccer team opens the 2015 NCAA Tournament Friday with UAlbany. The Nittany Lions host the Great Danes Friday, Nov. 13, at 6:30 p.m. at Jeffrey Field. This is the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
FOLLOW ALONG
Live stats and video will be provided for free via GoPSUsports.com.
TICKET INFORMATION
Fans can purchase tickets for Friday's match prior to the game time by calling 1-800-NITTANY or visiting the ticket office at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Ticket prices are: $8 for adults, $5 for youth and Penn State students, also groups of 20 or more can buy $3 tickets.
Ticket sales at the gate are cash only.
PARKING INFORMATION
Fans should utilize the Stadium West entrance off Park Avenue and identify themselves as women's soccer fans to the attendant. Parking will be available in the paved lot as well as the grass lots south of Jeffrey Field.
SCOUTING UALBANY (11-8-1, 4-3-1)
UAlbany makes its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance following a 2-1 victory over top-seed Hartford in the America East Tournament. UAlbany also topped the three-seed Vermont, 2-1, in the semifinals.
The Great Danes enter the match Friday riding a five-game winning streak.
This is the first-ever match between UAlbany and a Big Ten team.
In the second half of matches, UAlbany is out-scoring the opposition, 21-13.
UAlbany leads the America East conference in points (94), goals (33) and assists (28). UAlbany also ranks second in shots (284).
Alana Brennan has played the majority of time in net for the Great Danes tallying a record of 6-7-1. Brennan has made 62 saves and allowed 18 goals.
Also in net, Alana Olivieri has played in seven games posting a record of 5-1-0. Olivieri has made 19 and conceded four goals.
Both Brennan and Olivieri have both posted three shutouts on the year.
Junior Alexa Schneider leads the team with seven goals and 18 points. Schneider also ranks fourth on the team with her four assists.
Schneider was named to the America East All-Conference First Team. Also, Caroline Kopp and Mariah Williams were named to the America East All-Rookie Team.
150 WINS WITH PSU
On Nov. 6, Coach Walsh won her 150th match as the head coach of the Penn State women's soccer program.
In her time as the Nittany Lion head coach, Walsh has tallied an overall record of 151-50-10 (.739).
B1G TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The 2015 Big Ten Tournament marked the 20th Big Ten Tournament appearance for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State has hosted the Big Ten Tournament twice prior to 2015. The Nittany Lions won the postseason Big Ten title both times they hosted the tournament ('98, '06).
Overall, Penn State has a record of 29-10-4 in the Big Ten Tournament and has won six postseason titles ('98, '00, '01, '06, '08, '15).
ONE GOAL OR LESS
The Nittany Lions have held their opponents to one or goal less in the last 17 matches.
The Nittany Lions also tallied three-straight matches without conceding a goal, a feat they posted twice this season.
Penn State has only allowed two goals in match twice this season, both times Penn State won 4-2.
AMONG THE BEST OF THE B1G
Megan Schafer and Mallory Weber have established themselves as two of the top forwards in the Big Ten this season.
Among the Big Ten leaders, Weber ranks in the top-five in points, points per game, goals, assists, assists per game and game-winning goals.
Weber's nine assists this season lead the Big Ten. She also leads the conference with .43 assists per game.
Schafer is tied for second in goals and ranks third in points. She has also tallied four game-winning goals, which is tied for third in the Big Ten.
As a team, the Nittany Lions lead the Big Ten in points, assists, assists per game, goals and goals per game.
Penn State also ranks second in the Big Ten in shots.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
The Nittany Lion underclassmen have accounted for 29 of the 44 goals scored this season and 27 of the 45 assists.
The Nittany Lion backline, comprised of one redshirt sophomore, one sophomore and two freshmen, have only allowed 14 goals on the season.
BALANCED ATTACK
Eleven Nittany Lions have tallied goals in the 2015 campaign, which includes eight Nittany Lions with multiple goals.
The Penn State attack is led by Frannie Crouse (eight goals), Megan Schafer (10 goals) and Mallory Weber (eight 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.
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).
Marissa Sheva was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for netting the game-winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Ohio State on Oct. 24.
After playing 71 minutes and tallying an assist in the regular season finale, Kaleigh Riehl was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the second time in 2015.
Ball received TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week honors after a pair of shutout wins over Michigan (1-0) and Rutgers (2-0).
Ball tallied the game-winning goal against Rutgers and played in all but 13 minutes in between the two matches.
REPEATING HISTORY
Last season, Frannie Crouse and Mallory Weber led the team with 22 points apiece.
Heading into the UAlbany match, Weber leads the team with 25 points and Crouse ranks third with 20 points.
THE POLLS
The Penn State women's soccer team currently ranks second in the NCAA RPI, fourth in the TopDrawerSoccer Poll, sixth in the NSCAA Coaches' Poll and 11th in the Soccer America Top-25 Poll.
ACTIVE LEADERS
Heading into the weekend, among active student-athletes in the NCAA, Mallory Weber is tied for third in games played (93), ranks 18th in points (99), is 11th in assists (27) and she is also one of 12 student-athletes to have tallied 30 goals and 20 assists.
Also in the active leaderboards, Raquel Rodriguez ranks 12th with 25 assists.
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
In the 2015 season, the Nittany Lions have out-scored their opponents 23-4 in the first 45 minutes of play and they have out-shot the opposition, 171-64.
45 IN A ROW
With her 21 starts in the 2015 season, sophomore Emily Ogle has started all 45 matches of her Nittany Lion career.
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 four game-winning goals this season.
All-time at Penn State, Weber ranks 10th in goals (36), 10th in points (99) and eighth in assists (27).
Weber recorded at least one point a game over a six-game span from Sept. 25-Oct. 15.
She has recorded three matches this season with one goal and one assist.
USUAL SUSPECTS
Seven Nittany Lions have started all 21 matches this season for the Blue and White.
Out of 1930 minutes, seven Nittany Lions have played at least 1537 minutes (79.6 percent).
DEFENSE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS
The Nittany Lion defense has posted a goals against average of .65 this season, which ranks fourth all-time at Penn State.
In 2007, the Blue and White tallied a GAA of .61, which ranks third at PSU.
SMART LIONS
For their hard work and dedication in the classroom, seniors Britt Eckerstrom and Raquel Rodriguez were named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Two First Team.
Eckerstrom and Rodriguez are the 16th and 17th Nittany Lions to be named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team since 2000.
SIXTEEN GOING ON SEVENTEEN
The Nittany Lions captured a share of their 17th Big Ten title in program history in 2015.
Penn State has won 17 of the last 18 Big Ten regular season.
The 17 Big Ten titles won by the Penn State women's soccer team is the third-most most titles won by any one women's sport program in the Big Ten.
HOME SWEET HOME
Jeffery Field has been a tough place for opponents to play as the Nittany Lions boast an all-time record of 214-24-10 at home.
In Big Ten play at Jeffrey Field, the Nittany Lions own a record of 113-6-4. The Nittany Lions have tallied seven undefeated seasons at Jeffrey Field.
SOPHOMORE STANDOUT
In her sophomore season, Megan Schafer has tallied 10 goals in 21 games. She has also added three assists on the year.
Schafer has scored in six of the past 11 matches. She also has tallied at least one point in eight of the past 11 matches.
Last season, Schafer scored six goals and tallied five assists in 24 games.
#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 Nov. 11, Penn State ranks 11th in average attendance (1,511) in the NCAA.
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.
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.
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.
MIDSEASON HONORS
Eight Nittany Lions were named to TopDrawerSoccer's Top-100 midseason lists, with three named among the top-100 freshmen and five named to the top-100 upperclassmen list. The top-100 upperclassmen list is comprised of the top sophomores, juniors and seniors in NCAA women's soccer.
Raquel Rodriguez (San Jose, Costa Rica) leads the Nittany Lion contingent among the TopDrawerSoccer Top-100 midseason upperclassmen list. Rodriguez checks in at sixth, followed by Emily Ogle (Strongsville, Ohio) (26th), Mallory Weber (Novi, Mich.) (34th), Frannie Crouse (Greensburg, Pa.) (60th) and Elizabeth Ball (Richmond, Va.) (76th).
Among TopDrawerSoccer's Midseason Top-100 Freshmen list, Kaleigh Riehl (Fairfax Station, Va.) ranks sixth, Ellie Jean (Coventry, Conn.) checks in at 16th and Alina Ortega-Jurado (Wetzlar, Germany) is 83rd.
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.
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.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Keep up with the Nittany Lions on Facebook (PennStateWomensSoccer), Instagram (PennStateWSOC) and Twitter (PennStateWSOC).
UP NEXT
The winner of the Penn State/UAlbany match will play the winner of the St. John's (N.Y.)/Boston University match on Nov. 20.