Nov. 10, 2016
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's soccer team (11-4-4) hosts the Bucknell Bison (16-1-2) in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament Friday, Nov. 11, at 6 p.m. at Jeffrey Field.
FOLLOW ALONG
Live stats and video will be provided for free via GoPSUsports.com.
TICKET INFORMATION
Ticket sales at Jeffrey Field are cash only, but fans can purchase tickets for the match prior to Friday 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 students of participating schools and $3 for groups of 20 or more.
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.
LOOKING AT BUCKNELL
Bucknell enters the NCAA Tournament with an overall record of 16-1-2.
During the regular season, Bucknell defeated Syracuse, 2-1, on Sept. 1, in its lone game against a team from a power five conference. The Nittany Lions and the Bucknell Bison have no common opponents from the 2016 season.
The Bison defeated Boston University, 2-1, in overtime to capture the 2016 Patriot League Tournament title. The 2016 NCAA Tournament is the third appearance in program history.
Offensively, Kendall Ham leads Bucknell and the Patriot League in points with 35, which is tied for 18th in the NCAA. On the year, Ham has tallied 15 goals and five assists. Along with Ham, Maddie Mulford is tied for 43rd in the NCAA in points with 28. Mulford has scored 10 goals and tallied eight assists.
In net for the Bison, Jessica Ratner has played 1695:52 minutes, allowed 11 goals, has a goals against average of 0.58, made 66 saves, tallied a save percentage of .857, posted eight shutouts and has a record of 16-1-2.
PSU VS. BUCKNELL
The Penn State Nittany Lions and Bucknell Bison have met 19 times in program history. Penn State leads the all-time series against Bucknell, 18-0-1. The Nittany Lions and Bison have met twice in the NCAA Tournament with both matches taking place in the first round at Jeffrey Field. Penn State topped Bucknell, 3-1, in 2001 and then the Nittany Lions defeated the Bison, 6-0, in 2005.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The 2016 NCAA Tournament marks the 22nd-straight NCAA Tournament for the Penn State women's soccer program. All-time in program history, the Nittany Lions sport a record of 46-19-2 in the NCAA Tournament, which includes a record of 36-6-1 at Jeffrey Field.
The Nittany Lions are 15-3 in first round games (PSU received byes from the first round in 1998, 1999 and 2000). Penn State is in the midst of a seven-game first round win streak. Last season, the Nittany Lions outscored their opponents, 20-0, en route to their first NCAA title.
BIG TEN POSTSEASON HONORS
Eight members of the Penn State women's soccer team received postseason honors from the Big Ten.
Three Nittany Lions led the way with All-Big Ten First Team honors, while two Nittany Lions received All-Big Ten Third Team honors. Along with the five all-conference honorees, two Nittany Lions were named to the All-Freshman Team and one Nittany Lion received the Sportsmanship Award. Elizabeth Ball Frannie Crouse and Nickolette Driesse received All-Big Ten First Team honors. Along with the All-Big Ten First Team honor, Driesse was named to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team.
Megan Schafer and Charlotte Williams brought home All-Big Ten Third Team honors. Amanda Dennis and Laura Freigang were named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, while Isabelle Clauss was named the Sportsmanship Award honoree for Penn State.
DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE
Heading into the weekend, the Nittany Lions have a record of 10-2-3 in the past 15 games. Over that span, the Nittany Lion defense has allowed one goal or less in 12 of the 15 games, which includes eight shutouts.
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 did not play Northwestern or Michigan during the regular season in 2016.
FOR CLUB AND COUNTRY
The Penn State women's soccer team will have six representatives at the 2016 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. The Nittany Lion quintet were named to the U.S. U-20 Women's National Team on Oct. 13. Along with five Nittany Lions on the U.S. U-20 WNT, Laura Freigang will compete at the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup for the German U-20 WNT.
B1G WEEKLY HONORS
Four Nittany Lions have garnered weekly honors from the Big Ten during the 2016 regular season. Laura Freigang received Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors on Aug. 23, Frannie Crouse was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 13 and on Oct. 18, Laura Suero garnered Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week honors on Sept. 20 and Amanda Dennis was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Sept. 27 and brought home Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors on Oct. 27.
BIG TEN SUCCESS
Since joining the Big Ten conference in 1994, the Nittany Lions have amassed a record of 187-27-13 in Big Ten play, including a record of 102-6-5 at Jeffrey Field. Under Coach Dambach, the Nittany Lions have a tallied a Big Ten record of 87-15-6.
PACING THE PRIDE
In 2016, junior Frannie Crouse leads the team in points (25), goals (12) and has recorded one assist. She also ranks second in shots (52) and shots on goal (24). Her 12 goals this season are a career-best as she recorded 10 during her freshman season and then scored 11 goals in 2015.
Among the leaders in the NCAA, Crouse is tied for 20th in game-winning goals (five) and she is tied for 30th in goals scored (12), as of Nov. 3.
STANDOUT SOPHOMORE
On the year, sophomore Charlotte Williams has tallied 12 points on four goals and four assists. During her freshman season in 2015, Williams netted 13 points on three goals and seven assists.
Williams leads the team in shots attempted (55), shots on goal (30), is tied for second in assists (four), ranks third in goals (four) and points (12).
HOME SWEET HOME
The Penn State women's soccer team has a record of 63-6-6 at Jeffrey Field since the start of the 2011 season. All-time at Jeffrey Field the Penn State women's soccer team has an overall record of 223-26-12.
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 Nov. 3, the Nittany Lions rank 11th in the nation in average attendance with 1,392 fans per game, which is the third-best average in program history.
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 410-107-33.
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 208-82-17.
MIDSEASON HONORS
Seven Nittany Lions were named to TopDrawerSoccer's Top 100 Midseason Lists. Amanda Dennis, Grace Fisk and Laura Freigang were named to the TopDrawerSoccer Freshmen Top 100 List. Dennis checks in at 15, followed by Freigang at 35 and Fisk at 74.
TopDrawerSoccer also released its midseason top 100 list featuring upperclassmen. Frannie Crouse leads a quartet of Nittany Lions at 43, followed by Megan Schafer (49), Nickolette Driesse (58) and Brittany Basinger (74).
BIG TEN REGULAR SEASON TITLE DEFENSE COMPLETE
After being picked to bring home their 18th Big Ten women's soccer regular season title in 2016, the Nittany Lions shared the title with Minnesota and Northwestern. Since the preseason poll started in 2003, the Nittany Lions have been named the preseason favorites every time.
The Nittany Lions have won the Big Ten regular season title outright 14 times and shared the title four times.
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
Heading into Friday, Frannie Crouse ranks 15th all-time in points scored at PSU with 76 (33g, 10a), while Megan Schafer ranks 21st with 61 (24g, 13a). All-time in goals scored at PSU, Crouse ranks 12th with 33 and Schafer is tied for 18th with 24.
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.
WINNING TRADITION
Senior co-captain Nickolette Driesse has been a part of the last two NCAA champion women's soccer teams. Prior to transferring to Penn State in 2015, Driesse was a member of the Florida State Seminoles. The Seminoles were NCAA runner-ups in 2013 and won the NCAA title in 2014.
THE POLLS
The Nittany Lions rank 24th in the Soccer America poll, 25th in the TopDrawerSoccer poll and 27th in the RPI. The Nittany Lions are also receiving votes in the NSCAA 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 168-54-14 and 87-15-6 in Big Ten play.
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
The winner of Penn State and Bucknell will play the winner of No. 3 seed Virginia and Monmouth on Nov. 18.