University Park, Pa. — The Penn State women’s soccer team announced its 20-game schedule for the 2011 season on Tuesday (June 7). The Nittany Lions will host eight games at venerable Jeffrey Field, including six Big Ten matchups under the new 11-game format. Penn State’s season begins Aug. 19 at two-time NCAA runner-up Stanford.
Another challenging schedule awaits the Nittany Lions, the 13-time reigning Big Ten champions, as nine opponents made the NCAA Tournament a year ago. Additionally, two teams were in the College Cup (Stanford, Ohio State) with five total reaching at least the third round (Minnesota, Virginia, West Virginia). The docket also has plenty of new faces with the possibility of six first-time matchups. All together, Penn State boasts a 187-31-14 (.836) overall record against 2011 opponents including a terrific mark of 157-24-12 (.845) against Big Ten foes. Moreover, the Big Ten Tournament makes its return from a two-year hiatus to be hosted by Northwestern (Nov. 2-6).
A season-opening trip to Northern California sees the Nittany Lions take on two-time NCAA Finalist Stanford. The Cardinal went undefeated through its entire 2010 season before falling to eventual champion Notre Dame in the championship match. The Friday, Aug. 19 match is set for 10 p.m. ET. Penn State and Stanford have never met on the soccer pitch. Two days later, Penn State faces yet another new team in Nevada for a 4 p.m. ET showdown. That match will take place in Saratoga, Calif., at West Valley College.
The Nittany Lions take part in tournaments for three successive weekends, starting with the annual Penn State Invitational. Richmond and George Mason kick off the action on Friday, Aug. 26 at 5 p.m. before the Nittany Lions renew its long-standing rivalry with West Virginia at 7:30 p.m. The two teams split last season’s series in Morgantown with Penn State taking a 2-1 overtime-win in August before falling to the Mountaineers 2-1 in an NCAA Second Round game. The tourney concludes on Sunday, Aug. 28 with WVU and George Mason squaring off at noon and Penn State taking on Richmond for the inaugural meeting at 2:30 p.m.
The following weekend, Penn State travels to play in the Pittsburgh Invitational, its first visit to the Steel City in program history. The two-day tournament has Penn State against N.C. State at 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 2 at the new Petersen Sports Complex. The Nittany Lions will face either host Pittsburgh or Colorado College on Sunday, Sept. 4 at 11:30 a.m. or 2 p.m. in the consolation/championship match. Penn State has never played N.C. State or Colorado College in women’s soccer, while holding a 7-0-0 all-time mark against the Panthers.
Another tough weekend is set for Friday, Sept. 9-Sunday, Sept. 11 when Penn State takes part in the Nike Virginia Classic in Charlottesville. The Nittany Lions take on Central Florida, a 2010 NCAA Second Round participant, at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Another chapter in the ever-evolving Penn State-Virginia book will be written two days later with a 2:30 p.m. matchup. Last season, the Nittany Lions and Cavaliers treated nearly 4,000 fans to a riveting 1-1 double-overtime draw at Jeffrey Field in 2010. The last time Virginia hosted Penn State was in 1998, a 2-1 overtime-victory for the Lions. Penn State last played in the Virginia Classic in 2003, going 1-0-1 against USC and Santa Clara.
Penn State opens Big Ten play at Wisconsin to take on the Badgers at McClimon Sports Complex on Sunday, Sept. 18. Penn State will attempt to keep its 10-match unbeaten streak in Madison alive with a 2 p.m. ET kick off. Two days later, the Lions return to Pennsylvania to take on local foe, Bucknell at 7 p.m. as Penn State will look to extend its 25-game unbeaten streak against Pennsylvania foes.
Penn State comes home for the first time in nearly a month to take on Northwestern (Friday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m.) and Illinois (Sunday, Sept. 25 at 1 p.m.). That all leads to a much-anticipated matchup under the lights at Jeffrey Field on Thursday, Sept. 29 as the Ohio State Buckeyes come to town. Penn State and Ohio State split the Big Ten crown lastyear as the Buckeyes traversed through their most successful postseason in program history. The Buckeyes used a key upset of Virginia in the third-round of the NCAA Tournament before defeating Georgetown in Columbus to earn its first trip to the Women’s College Cup. By doing so, Ohio State joined Penn State as the only Big Ten programs to reach the College Cup. The Nittany Lions lead the all-time series against Ohio State, 14-6-1.
Penn State hits the road for two straight weekends with a trip to NCAA Fourth Round participant Minnesota on Sunday, Oct. 2 in St. Paul for a noon ET matchup before taking on Indiana in Bloomington a week later at 11 a.m.
Homecoming weekend at Penn State will feature an exciting sports schedule as Nebraska plays Penn State for the first time in women’s soccer. The new Big Ten team visits Happy Valley on Friday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. before the football team plays Purdue at noon on Saturday. The next morning, Penn State hosts Iowa for an 11:30 a.m. showdown, which will feature a soccer doubleheader with the men’s team, which takes on Northwestern at 2 p.m.
Penn State’s final regular season road trip takes them to the Great Lakes State for showdowns with Michigan State and Michigan. The Lions and Spartans square off at Friday, Oct. 21 before Penn State faces the Wolverines, another 2010 NCAA team, on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Ann Arbor.
The regular season will conclude Friday, Oct. 28 at Jeffrey Field when Penn State hosts Purdue at 7 p.m. That game will also serve as Senior Day for the graduating Nittany Lions. The Big Ten tournament kicks off the following Wednesday, Nov. 2, at Northwestern. The eight-team format will see the four quarterfinal winners play Friday, Nov. 4 followed by the championship game on Sunday, Nov. 6.
The NCAA Tournament is slated to begin Nov. 11 and run through Dec. 3. The NCAA Women’s College Cup will be hosted at Kennesaw State University in Georgia at its new 8,000-seat stadium, the home of Atlanta Beat of the Women’s Professional Soccer league.
Penn State is expected to play eight home games, a minimum of eight true road games with the possibility of a ninth (against Pitt). The Nittany Lions will also take part in at least three neutral site games and a chance at a fourth (against Colorado College). The last time Penn State played a 20-game regular season schedule was in 2008, which was the last of the Lions’ five Big Ten Tournament titles.
The Nittany Lions return eight of their 11 starters from a year ago with 10 newcomers coming into the fold. In all, 19 letterwinners return for a chance at a record-breaking 14th straight Big Ten title and PSU’s 17th straight NCAA appearance.