Nov. 10, 2016
Bag Policy - Parking
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Returning to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2014 and hosting the First-Rounds for the first time since 2012, Penn State enters the tournament as the No. 4 seed drawing a First-Round matchup against Princeton Saturday, Nov. 12 at 11:30 a.m. at Field Hockey Complex. The game will be the first of two games slated for the tournament's first day.
NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTES
Penn State is the No. 4 seed in the 16-team tournament. With a win, the Nittany Lions will face the winner between Virginia and Michigan in the Quarterfinals on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 2 p.m.
Penn State's 31 NCAA berths tie them with Old Dominion at No. 2 for number of NCAA tournament berths. North Carolina leads the NCAA in field hockey postseason appearances qualifying for the tournament 33 times over the programs history.
The Nittany Lions hold a 24-34 all-time record at the NCAA Tournament including two second-place finishes, one third-place finish and four fourth-place finishes.
PRINCETON NOTES
The Tigers received an at large big and enter the tournament with a 10-7 record. Princeton is 28-20 all-time in the tournament including making four trips to the national semifinals and winning it all in 2012.
- Goalie Grace Bayis has a .654 save percentage and has recorded four shutouts.
- Offensively, Caro Cat leads the team in goals scored (15) and points (35)
- Princeton Has shutout four teams this season: Dartmouth (4-0), Yale (3-0) Columbia (6-0) and Townson (8-0)
SERIES HISTORY
Penn State is 26-9-0 all-time against Princeton in a series dating back to 1979. The Nittany Lions last faced the Tigers during the 2016 regular season downing them 4-2. The last time Penn State played Princeton in the First-Round of the NCAA tournament was in 2013 when the Nittany Lions fell 5-4 to the Tigers in College Park, MD.
QUARTERFINAL POSSIBILITIES
Should Penn State advance to the quarterfinals, the Nittany Lions will face the winner of Michigan/Virginia on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 2 p.m. ET.
- Penn State has defeated both teams during the 2016 season, downing Michigan twice in 2016.
SERIES HISTORY VS QUARTERFINAL OPPONENTS
Penn State is 26-19 all-time against Michigan in a series dating back to 1992. The Nittany Lions last faced the Wolverines during the Big Ten Tournament downing Michigan 1-0. Penn State also droped the Wolverines during the regular season 3-1 back on Sept. 25 on the road in a nationally aired game on the Big Ten Newtork.
Penn State is 17-7 all-time against Virginia in a series dating back to 1980. The Nittany Lions last faced the Cavaliers during opening weekend securing their second win of the season 3-0 against then-No. 5 Virginia. Penn State last faced Virginia in the NCAA Postseason back in 2007 when the Nittany Lions advanced past UVA 3-2 in College Park, Md.
LAST TIME OUT
Last week Penn State hit the road to College Park MD to take part of a Big Ten Tournament Championship. On Nov. 3, Penn State defeated Indiana 3-1 to advance to the semifinals against Michigan. The Nittany Lions blanked Michigan 1-0 the following day Nov.4 advancing to the championship game against the No. 2 seed Maryland in the finals of the B1G tournament. In a close contest on Sunday Nov. 6, Penn State outlasted the Terrapins in 2-1 victory to claim their seventh Big Ten title - a conference record.
B1G TOURNAMENT HONORS
The Nittany Lions have had five Big Ten Tournament MVPs, most recently with Gini Bramley in 2016. Since the Big Ten started selecting an All-Tournament team in 1997, Penn State has had 44 players receive the honor including Skyler Fretz and Gini Bramley receiving accolades this season at the 2016 B1G Tournament
2016 ALL-BIG TEN HONORS
Earning First-Team honors for the second year in-a-row, sophomore Aurelia Meijer was joined by teammates Moira Putsch (First-team) and Skyler Fretz (Second-Team).
NCAA ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
The Nittany Lions have had 12 All-tournament selections, the most recent being the quintet of Shaun Banta, Jen Beaumont, Jen Long, Allison Scola, and Mallory Weisen in 2007.
NFHCA RANKINGS
Recording wins over Indiana (3-1), Michigan (1-0) and Maryland (2-1), the Penn State Field hockey team earned their conference record seventh Big Ten title this past Sunday in College Park, MD.
Penn State enters the NCAA tournament as the No .4 seed and moved to No. 5 in the latest NFHCA rankings.
Penn State is currently ranked in the top five in the nation in several key categories including No. 4 in the nation in scoring margin (2.58), scoring average (4.05) Points per game (11.29), goals per game (4.05), and No. 5 in penalty corners per game (8.28).
REGULAR SEASON NATIONAL COMPETITION
Penn State faced off against eight teams that were ranked in the 2016 NFHCA Poll, including conference-foes Maryland (6), Michigan (8), Northwestern (11), and Iowa (16). Along with the conference opponents, the Nittany Lions also had matchups against Virginia (5), Albany (9), Princeton (11) and Old Dominion (20). Four of those teams (Maryland, Michigan, Princeton and Virginia) made the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Penn State defeated Kent State 6-1 Aug. 17 in University Park. Kent State won the MAC Tournament to earn the conference's automatic bid and advance the NCAA tournament.
B1G DEPTH
Three of the 18 teams in the 2016 NCAA tournament are Big Ten teams. In addition, two of the four host teams in the tournament are Big Ten teams: No. 2 Maryland and No. 4 Penn State
TOP OF THE CHARTS
Averaging 1.00 assists per game and 2.68 points per game, Penn State's Moira Putsch is ranked No. 1 and No. 5 in the nation respectively. Fellow Nittany Lion Aurelia Meijer is not too far behind as her .67 assists per game currently ranks No. 10. In the cage, Jenny Rizzo is ranked No .5 in goalie win-loss percentage at .889. Recording five defensive saves this season, Skyler Fretz is ranked No. 9 in the nation which is tied for the conference lead with Malia Fujisawa of Indiana and Caroline Rath of Ohio State.
#BALLZZINTHEGOAL
Thus far, Penn State has scored 77 goals through 19 games during the 2016 campaign. Dating back to 1964, this would rank them T-No. 6 in Penn State history in total goals in a season
1. 99 - 1990
2. 89 - 1981
3. 87 - 2012
4. 84 - 1991, 2000
5. 78 - 2011
6. 77 - 1999, 2016*
FAMILIAR FOES
Penn State will be facing Princeton for the second time this season in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Of the 18 teams in the tournament, Penn State has already faced-off with and defeated five of them: Princeton, Michigan, Virginia, Maryland and Kent State (exhibition).
Please note: Spectator parking is available free of charge in the Yellow lots at Wagner and Shields Buildings ( above) - however - all field hockey vehicles in these lots must vacate by 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Parking is also available free of charge in the Stadium West parking lot. Please enter off of Park Avenue at the Stadium West traffic light. Be sure to let the attendant know you are there for Field Hockey to avoid the Event Parking Fee (Sunday only). The Yellow-H South parking lot at Pegula and the two Orange-F lots closest to the Field Hockey Field/Tennis Center are reserved for the men's ice hockey game at 7:00 p.m. and are not available for our field hockey games (Saturday only).
Penn State field hockey is on social media. Follow the program on Facebook (www.facebook.com/PennStateFieldHockey) and Twitter/Instagram @PennStateFH. For all of your Penn State news, visit www.GoPSUsports.com