Sept. 14, 2016
| No. 16 Penn State at No. 10 Minnesota | | | | 4-2-1 (0-0-0) | 6-2-0 (0-0-0) |
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| No. 16 Penn State at Wisconsin | | | | 4-2-1 (0-0-0) | 3-2-3 (0-0-0) |
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's soccer team opens Big Ten play this weekend at Minnesota and Wisconsin. The No. 16 Nittany Lions (4-2-1) take on the No. 10 Golden Gophers (6-2-0) Friday, Sept. 16, at 8 p.m. (EDT) live on the Big Ten Network. Penn State then closes out the opening weekend of conference play Sunday, Sept. 18, at 2 p.m. (EDT) at Wisconsin (3-2-3).
FOLLOW ALONG
The Minnesota match will be aired live on the Big Ten Network with Dean Linke and Jackie Manny on the call. The Wisconsin contest will be streamed on BTN2go.com. Fans can also follow along with live stats on GoPSUsports.com for both matches.
LOOKING AT MINNESOTA
The Golden Gophers enter the weekend ranked 10th in the nation by the NSCAA. Prior to Big Ten play, Minnesota finished its non-conference slate with a record of 6-2-0. Minnesota dropped back-to-back games at No. 10 Duke (1-0) and at No. 2 Stanford (4-1) before defeating Santa Clara (2-1) on Sept. 11.
Simone Kolander and April Bockin have set the tone for the Golden Gopher offense in 2016. Kolander leads Minnesota and the Big Ten in points (17) and goals (seven). Bockin ranks second on the team in points (11) and goals (five).
In net for the Golden Gophers, senior goalkeeper Tarah Hobbs has a record of 6-2-0 with 630:00 minutes played. On the year, Hobbs has recorded two solo shutouts, tallied 22 saves and has a goals against average of 1.00.
LOOKING AT WISCONSIN
The Wisconsin Badgers open Big Ten play against No. 19 Ohio State Friday with a record of 3-2-3. The non-conference slate for the Badgers included a 1-0 loss at Notre Dame (Aug. 21), a 2-1 loss at No. 2 Stanford (Sept. 1) and a 1-1 tie at Santa Clara (Sept. 4).
Emily Borgmann and Micaela Powers lead the Badger offense with five points (2g, 1a) apiece. Rose Lavelle, the 2015 Big Ten Midfielder of the Year, has netted two assists in 2016.
Redshirt junior goalkeeper Caitlyn Clem has started all eight matches in net for the Badgers in 2016. On the year, she has played 800:00 minutes, recorded a goals against average of 0.56, made 30 saves and has posted four shutouts.
WEEKEND REWIND
The Nittany Lions closed out non-conference play in the regular season with a pair of shutout victories against San Diego State (Sept. 9) and La Salle (Sept. 11).
In a 3-0 win against the San Diego State Aztecs, Frannie Crouse netted her fifth career two-goal game, while Megan Schafer scored her 20th career goal as a Nittany Lion.
Penn State closed out the regular season non-conference slate with a 2-0 win against La Salle. In the contest, Crouse netted her sixth goal of the season and her fifth goal over the past three games. The match also featured freshman defender Grace Fisk scoring her first career goal in the 41st minute of play.
Crouse received Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors for her three-goal performance against San Diego State and La Salle.
THE 2016 PSU BIG TEN SLATE
Penn State opens the 2016 Big Ten regular season at No. 10 Minnesota (Sept. 16) and the 2015 Big Ten regular season co-champion Wisconsin Badgers (Sept. 18). Following the trip to Minnesota and Wisconsin, Penn State returns home to host Iowa (Sept. 23), Nebraska (Sept. 25) and Illinois (Sept. 30).
Penn State then travels to Indiana (Oct. 6) and Maryland (Oct. 9) before returning home to Happy Valley to host Rutgers on BTN (Oct. 13) and Purdue (Oct. 16).
The Blue and White close out the 2016 Big Ten regular season at Michigan State (Oct. 22) and host Ohio State (Oct. 26) for the regular season finale.
Due to a rotating schedule, Penn State does not play Northwestern or Michigan during the regular season in 2016.
FOR CLUB AND COUNTRY
The 2016 Penn State women's soccer team will be without the services of five Nittany Lions as they pursue a spot on the United States U-20 Women's National Team that will compete in the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Nov. 13-Dec. 3. Maddie Elliston, Ellie Jean, Emily Ogle and Kaleigh Riehl will not be on the roster this fall, while Rose Chandler will continue to train with the Nittany Lions during the fall semester.
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Freshman Laura Freigang joined the Nittany Lions on the Monday prior to the season-opener against No. 6 WVU. Freigang made her Nittany Lion debut in the 2016 season-opener. In her debut, Freigang took to the field during the 31st minute and played the final 14 minutes of the first half. Freigang then started the second half and scored her first career goal on her first career shot attempt at the 50:50 mark. The No. 2 Nittany Lions and the No. 6 Mountaineers finished in a 1-1 draw.
In a 3-1 win against the Hofstra Pride on Sunday, Aug. 21, Freigang played 48 minutes and paced the Nittany Lion offense with six shot attempts. For her season-opening performance, Freigang was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week.
BIG TEN SUCCESS
Since joining the Big Ten conference in 1994, the Nittany Lions have amassed a record of 180-26-10 in Big Ten play, including a record of 96-6-4 at Jeffrey Field. Under Coach Dambach, the Nittany Lions have a tallied a record of 80-14-3.
PACING THE PRIDE
Over the first seven games of the season, junior Frannie Crouse has set the tone for the Nittany Lion offense. In 2016, Crouse leads the team in points (13), goals (six) and has recorded one assist. Crouse also leads the team in shots (23) and shots on goal (13).
STANDOUT SOPHOMORE
Over the first seven games of the 2016 season, sophomore Charlotte Williams has tallied eight points on three goals and two assists. During her freshman season in 2015, Williams netted 13 points on three goals and seven assists.
Heading into conference play, Williams is tied for the team lead in assists (two), ranks second on the team in points (eight), goals (three), shots (22) and shots on goal (10).
SHUTOUT SCORELESS STREAK SNAPPED
Penn State closed out the 2015 season with eight-straight shutouts, which spanned 733:32 of play. During the season opener against No. 6 West Virginia, the Nittany Lions kept the Mountaineers off the board until the 76:59 mark. The WVU goal at 76:59 snapped Penn State's shutout scoreless streak of 810:31, which was the second-best span in program history (1032:33, 2004).
HOME SWEET HOME
The Penn State women's soccer team has a record of 58-5-5 at Jeffrey Field since the start of the 2011 season. Over the past six seasons, Penn State has not lost twice at home in a single season. All-time at Jeffrey Field the Penn State women's soccer team has an overall record of 218-25-11.
Penn State kicked off the 2016 campaign setting an attendance record against No. 6 WVU. A Penn State women's soccer record 5,791 fans made their way to Jeffrey Field to watch the Nittany Lions and Mountaineers play to a 1-1 draw. The previous mark of 5,117 was set in 2012 against the top-ranked Stanford Cardinal.
As of Sept. 14, the Nittany Lions rank sixth in the nation in average attendance with 1,944 fans per game.
Last season, the Nittany Lions finished sixth in overall attendance in the nation with 21,856 fans, which was a program-best. The 2015 season featured two of the top-10 home field crowds in program history.
Penn State opened the 2015 season with a crowd of 3,175 against Hofstra and 4,207 fans packed into Jeffrey Field to watch the Nittany Lions host Duke.
NITTANY LIONS WELCOME NINE
Head coach Erica Dambach welcomed nine freshmen to the Penn State women's soccer family for the class of 2020.
Amanda Dennis and Emma Hasco enrolled early to Penn State during the spring of 2016. Becca Hamilton, Madison Moroi, Bristol Pizzuto, Laura Suero and Sarafina Valenti joined the Nittany Lions back on signing day in February. Grace Fisk and Laura Freigang were the last to join the Penn State women's soccer family as they joined the program in August.
NITTANY LION CAPTAINS
Brittany Basinger, Nickolette Driesse and Megan Schafer will captain the Nittany Lions for the 2016 season.
MILESTONE VICTORIES
The 2016 season marks the 23rd year of varsity women's soccer for Penn State. The Nittany Lions captured their 400th program victory with a 3-1 win over the Hofstra Pride on Aug. 21. Overall, the Nittany Lions boast a record of 403-105-30.
Coach Dambach captured her 200th win on Sept. 9 in a 3-0 victory against San Diego State. During her time as a head coach at Dartmouth (2000-02), Harvard (2006) and Penn State (2007-Present), Coach Dambach has tallied a record of 201-80-14.
PICKED TO DEFEND THE B1G
According to the 2016 Big Ten preseason coaches' poll, the Penn State women's soccer team was selected to defend its 2015 Big Ten regular season championship.
Since the preseason poll started in 2003, the Nittany Lions have been named the preseason favorites every time.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
The 2016 Penn State women's soccer roster is comprised of nine freshmen, one redshirt freshman, five sophomores, one redshirt sophomore, six juniors, three redshirt juniors and one senior.
MAC HERMANN TROPHY WATCH LIST
Junior forward Megan Schafer was named to the 2016 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List prior to the start of the 2016 campaign.
During her 2015 season, Schafer led the Nittany Lions in goals (13) and points (30). Six of her 13 goals during 2015 captured a victory for the Blue & White. As a sophomore, she started 24 of 27 matches and netted at least one point in 11 of the final 17 matches on the year.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Since the start of the 2016 season juniors Frannie Crouse and Megan Schafer have climbed the all-time charts at Penn State.
Against San Diego State (Sept. 9), Schafer scored 20th career goal and two days later against La Salle (Sept. 11), Crouse recorded her 27th career goal.
All-time at Penn State in goals scored, Crouse ranks 16th, while Schafer is tied for 21st (Lauren Olmsted - 1994-97).
Heading into Big Ten play, Crouse ranks 20th in career points with 64 (27g, 10a) and Schafer ranks 22nd with 50 (20g, 10a).
SCORING IN 2015
The Nittany Lion underclassmen accounted for 46 of the team's 64 goals last season, which also included 17 of the 20 goals scored in the NCAA Tournament.
2015 NCAA TOURNAMENT RUN
During Penn State's run to the National Title last season, the Nittany Lions outscored the opposition, 20-0, and outshot the opposition, 108-43. Only 13 of their opponent's shots during the NCAA Tournament were on goal.
THE POLLS
The Nittany Lions currently rank 13th in the Soccer America poll, 16th in the NSCAA poll and 18th in the TopDrawerSoccer poll.
YEAR 10
The 2016 season marks the 10th season for Erica Dambach at the helm of the Penn State women's soccer program. As the head coach of the Nittany Lions, Coach Dambach has an overall record of 161-52-11 and 80-14-3 in Big Ten play.
NITTANY LIONS ON BTN
The Penn State women's soccer team will be featured three times during the regular season on the Big Ten Network.
The BTN regular season matches for the Nittany Lions will be West Virginia (Aug. 19 - 7:30 p.m. EDT), Minnesota (Sept. 16 - 8 p.m. EDT) and Rutgers (Oct. 13 - 7 p.m. EDT).
THE TRIPLE CROWN
The 2015 season was a banner year for the Nittany Lions as they brought home the national championship along with both Big Ten titles.
NEXT UP
Penn State returns home to Jeffrey Field for a three-match Big Ten homestand against Iowa (Sept. 23), Nebraska (Sept. 25) and Illinois (Sept. 30).
