UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 4 Penn State women's soccer team kicks off its 25th season as a varsity program with two matches this weekend at Jeffrey Field. The 2018 season gets underway on Friday, Aug. 17, at 7:30 p.m. against the ninth-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers. No. 4 Penn State then closes out the opening weekend on Sunday, Aug. 19, against Duquesne at 2:30 p.m.
FOLLOW ALONG
Both matches will be streamed live on GoPSUsports.com for free.
ATTENDING JEFFREY FIELD
Admission and parking for women's soccer regular season events are free. Fans are reminded that there is a no bag policy in place on stadium grounds.
LOOKING AT WVU
The Mountaineers are coming off a season where they went 16-4-3 overall and 7-1-1 in Big 12 action. West Virginia returns 16 letterwinners and welcomes 11 newcomers to the program in 2018.
Junior Rylee Foster returns between the posts for WVU after recording 12 shutouts last season. Along with her 12 shutouts, Foster posted a goals-against average of 0.64, recorded 45 saves and only allowed 15 goals.
Offensively, Sh'Nia Gordon returns for her senior year after finishing second on the team in points (15) last season.
PSU VS. WVU
This weekend will mark the 18th meeting between the two programs. Penn State leads the all-time series against West Virginia, 8-7-2.
The two programs met twice last season in Morgantown, West Virginia, with each team capturing a victory. West Virginia tallied a 2-1 victory on Sept. 2 and then Penn State posted a 3-1 win on Nov. 19 in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
The series has gone to overtime four times with Penn State going 2-0-2 in those contests.
LOOKING AT DUQUESNE
Duquesne is coming off an 11-6-3 overall record and a 6-3-1 record in Atlantic 10 play in 2017. Last year saw the Dukes advance to the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Championship where they fell 2-1 in overtime to the La Salle Explorers.
In net, Kyra Murphy returns to the Dukes after playing every minute last season. On the year, Murphy tallied a record of 11-6-3, posted a goals-against average of 0.90, made 102 saves, and recorded eight shutouts.
Offensively, Katie O'Connor is back for her senior year after leading the team in goals (nine) and points (20) last season.
PSU VS. DUQUESNE
The Nittany Lions and Dukes are meeting for the third time, and for the first time since 1996.
Penn State leads the all-time series against Duquesne, 2-0-0. The Nittany Lions won the inaugural meeting in 1995 by a score of 7-0. In 1996, Penn State then captured a 2-0 victory.
OPENING AT HOME
Penn State has opened the season at home 14 times with the Nittany Lions owning a record of 12-0-2. This season marks the sixth straight season that Penn State has opened the year at home.
TOUGH COMPETITION
Penn State is scheduled to face five teams ranked in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll. In 2018, Penn State is slated to face No. 2 UCLA, No. 8 Virginia, No. 9 West Virginia, No. 23 Ohio State and No. 24 Rutgers. All five of those aforementioned teams will make their way to Jeffrey Field this fall.
25 YEARS OF VARSITY WOMEN'S SOCCER
2018 marks the 25th season of Penn State women's soccer as a varsity program. Over the first 24 seasons, Penn State has compiled a record of 426-113-37, won 18 Big Ten regular season titles, won seven Big Ten Tournament titles, captured the 2015 NCAA Championship, and has advanced to the NCAA Tournament every season since 1995.
THE POLLS
With the preseason polls in the books, Penn State ranks in the top-five according to three outlets. Penn State is No. 3 in the Soccer America poll, No. 4 according to the United Soccer Coaches and No. 6 by TopDrawerSoccer.
YEAR 12 DONNING THE BLUE & WHITE
Head coach Erica Dambach enters her 12th season at the helm of the Penn State women's soccer program in 2018. Along with Dambach, Ann Cook enters her 12th season on the Nittany Lion coaching staff. During her time at Penn State, Dambach has amassed a record of 184-60-18, won nine Big Ten regular season titles, three Big Ten Tournament crowns, advanced to 11 straight NCAA Tournaments, and won the NCAA Championship in 2015.
OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
Redshirt senior Maddie Nolf will don the captain's armband for the 2018 season. A mainstay on the Nittany Lion backline, Nolf has appeared in 66 matches, which included 52 starts. Nolf used a redshirt during the 2016 season as she was one of five Nittany Lions that joined the United States U-20 Women's National Team for the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.
WELCOME BACK
The Nittany Lions welcome back 16 letterwinners to the program for the 2018 season. Eight Nittany Lions return from the 2015 roster that won the program's first national championship.
NEW FACES
Penn State women's soccer welcomed seven student-athletes to the program for the 2018 season. The incoming class features six Penn Staters from across the United States and one international.
The Penn State women's soccer class of 2022 is comprised of Kat Asman, Kelli Beiler, Kim Dubs, Caitlin Haislip, Maddie Myers, Ally Schlegel and Rachel Wasserman.
The freshman class is ranked No. 8 overall by TopDrawerSoccer, which marks the fourth top-10 class for Penn State in the past five years.
HOME SWEET HOME
Heading into the 2018 season, the Nittany Lions boast an all-time record of 232-26-13 at Jeffrey Field. In Big Ten conference matches, Penn State is 106-6-6.
Since the start of the 2009 season, Penn State women's soccer has recorded eight of its top-10 top crowds in program history, which includes a program record crowd of 5,791 in 2016.
UP NEXT
Penn State continues its season-opening homestand with No. 2 UCLA on Saturday, Aug. 25. The match is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start at Jeffrey Field live on ESPNU.