UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's soccer program is headed to the NCAA National Tournament for the 27th season in a row as announced during the NCAA Selection Show on Monday.
The Nittany Lions will host Monmouth in the first round of the tournament beginning at 6 p.m. ET on Friday, November 12 at Jeffrey Field. It will be the third overall meeting between the two programs. Both prior matches occurred in the NCAA Tournament First Round with Penn State winning over the Hawks 4-0 in 2007, and 3-0 in 2013.
"We're thrilled to have the opportunity to host the first round of the NCAA Tournament and get another chance to play in front of our incredible fans at Jeffrey Field," said head coach Erica Dambach.
"We have experienced our fair share of adversity and learned great lessons that will serve us well going forward. This team is prepared and up for the challenge we will face on Friday night!"
PSU finished the 2021 regular season 11-7 overall and 5-5 in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions most recently faced Michigan in the Big Ten Quarterfinals, falling 3-1 to the eventual conference tournament champion Wolverines.
Monmouth enters the NCAA Tournament First Round having won their sixth Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament title and finished the regular season 12-4-1 overall. The Hawks enter their eighth NCAA Tournament in program history.
The winner of this opening round match will face the winner of Grand Canyon and No. 3 seed USC in the second round.
Penn State is 57-24-2 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, advancing to at least the third round of the tournament in each of the last four seasons. Erica Dambach has led the Nittany Lions to the College Cup twice and the national championship game in 2012 and 2015, securing Penn State's first national championship in program history in 2015.
The Penn State women's soccer season is presented by the Smeal College of Business.
