UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. Nov. 7, 2004 ¨C The 14th-ranked Penn State men¡¯s soccer team will enter the Big Ten Tournament as the sixth seed and will play No. 3 Northwestern beginning at 11:45 a.m. Thursday in Ann Arbor, Mich.

The Nittany Lions wrapped up their regular season with a 10-3-7 record, including a 9-0-5 mark in non-conference games, after defeating Lehigh 1-0 Sunday in Bethlehem.

They will play the Wildcats for the second time this season. Penn State tied Northwestern 2-2 on Oct. 8 in Evanston, Ill. The Nittany Lions scored two goals in the final minute of regulation to force overtime in that game. They own an all-time series advantage of 17-0-1 over the Wildcats, including a 1-0 win at last year¡¯s Big Ten Tournament in Bloomington, Ind.

No. 4 Wisconsin and No.5 Michigan State will open the Big Ten Tournament at 9 a.m. Thursday at U-M Varsity Field. No. 2 Ohio State and No. 7 Michigan will battle each other in the day¡¯s other contest at 2:30 p.m. No. 1 Indiana will receive a first round bye, but will face the winner of the Badgers versus Spartans contest at 11:30 a.m. Friday. If Penn State wins Thursday¡¯s game, it will face the winner of the Buckeyes versus Wolverines game at 2:30 p.m. Friday. The championship game will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday and will be televised at 9 p.m. Nov. 15 on CSTV.

The Nittany Lions own two Big Ten Tournament titles, with the last one coming in 2002. They are 20-9-2 all-time in the Big Ten Tournament.

 Big Ten Tournament Schedule Thursday Game 1, 9 a.m. ¨C No. 4 Wisconsin vs. No. 5 Michigan State. Game 2, 11:45 a.m. ¨C No. 3 Northwestern vs. No. 6 Penn State Game 3, 2:30 p.m. ¨C No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 7 Michigan Friday Game 4, 11:30 a.m. ¨C No. 1 Indiana vs. Game 1 winner Game 5, 2:30 p.m. ¨C Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner Sunday Game 6, 2 p.m. ¨C Championship match