UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 21 Penn State women's soccer team (4-3-0) opens its 2018 Big Ten season with the Ohio State Buckeyes (3-3-0) on Friday, Sept. 14. The match is slated for a 6 p.m. start at Jeffrey Field.
FOLLOW ALONG
The match will be streamed via BTN Plus on BTN2Go.com. Viewers must have a login to watch the match.
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. Parking on the grass lots will not be available, fans are asked to park in Stadium West.
LOOKING AT OHIO STATE
The Ohio State Buckeyes begin Big Ten play with a record of 3-3-0. OSU opened up the season with three straight games against top-10 opponents.
After falling to then-No. 3 Duke (Aug. 16) and then-No. 6 UNC (Aug. 19) by scores of 2-0, Ohio State rebounded with a 1-0 win at then-No. 5 Florida (Aug. 24). Most recently, the Buckeyes dropped a 1-0 decision to Florida Gulf Coast at home on Sept. 7.
Offensively, Emaly Vatne leads the team in points (seven) and goals (three).
In net, Devon Kerr, a 2017 second team All-Big Ten honoree, has played in 495:00 minutes, made 23 saves, recorded two solo shutouts, and has a goals-against average of 0.91.
PENN STATE VS. OHIO STATE
Penn State and Ohio State have met 30 times with the Nittany Lions leading the all-time series, 22-7-1.
The two teams split the two meetings last year with Ohio State winning 1-0 during the regular season and Penn State tallying a 1-0 (2OT) victory in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament.
BIG TEN HISTORY
The Nittany Lions enter the 2018 Big Ten regular season slate with an all-time conference record of 193-29-16.
Since the start of Big Ten women's soccer in 1994, Penn State has scored 643 goals in regular season conference play, which ranks first (Ohio State is second with 355 goals).
Heading into 2018, head coach Erica Dambach owns a Big Ten conference record of 93-17-9.
BIG TEN OPENERS
In 24 Big Ten regular season openers, Penn State has tallied a record of 20-2-2.
STRIKE FIRST
Penn State has been very successful when scoring the first goal over the past few seasons. When scoring first, Penn State is 99-3-5 since the start of the 2012 season.
PROTECTING THE NET
Since the start of the 2014 season, Penn State goalkeepers have combined for 50 shutouts.
TOP OFFENSE
The Nittany Lions boast one of the top offenses in the nation over the past few seasons.
Heading into the Ohio State match, Penn State has scored 421 goals since the start of the 2011 season, which ranks third in the nation.
Virginia leads the nation in goals scored since the start of 2011 with 474 followed by Stanford with 429 (Stats courtesy of the Virginia Sports Information Office).
HOME SWEET HOME
The Nittany Lions boast an all-time record of 235-28-13 at Jeffrey Field and in Big Ten conference matches, Penn State is 106-6-6. Since the start of the 2011 season, Penn State owns a record of 75-8-7 at Jeffrey Field.
Penn State opened the 2018 season with 3,126 fans against then-No. 9 West Virginia, which is the No. 8 crowd in program history at Jeffrey Field.
UP NEXT
No. 21 Penn State heads to No. 12 Northwestern on Thursday, Sept. 20, at 8 p.m. (EDT) before traveling to Illinois on Saturday, Sept. 22, at 8 p.m. (EDT). The match at Northwestern will be aired live on the Big Ten Network.