STATE COLLEGE, Pa., Nov. 19, 2001 -- The 18th-ranked Penn State men's soccer team earned the right to host the first and second rounds of the 2001 NCAA Tournament, it was announced today. Friday, Nov. 23, Akron will play South Florida at 7:00 p.m. on Jeffrey Field. Penn State will then take on the winner of that matchup on Sunday, Nov. 25 at 1:00 p.m.

Penn State comes into the tournament 13-4-1 overall, 5-2-1 in the Big Ten. More importantly, the Nittany Lions are 7-0 at Jeffrey Field this season. Penn State is led by unanimous first team All-Big Ten selections Ricardo Villar (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Derek Potteiger (Mechanicsburg, Pa.), along with first team All-Big Ten honorees Brent Jacquette (Wallingford, Pa.) and Ben Dawson (Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England). Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Year Chad Severs (Ocean City, N.J.) is second on the team in goals scored with five on the season, and goalkeepers Ryan Sickman (Hudson, Ohio) and Eric Earnhardt (Winchester, Va.) have split time in goal, allowing 14 goals over 18 games played. The Penn State defense, led by Dawson, senior Chris Stout (State College, Pa.) and freshman Kenji Treschuk (Honolulu, Hawaii) have been a main factor in the 11 Lion shutouts this season. Opponents have only been allowed 97 shots over 1670:12 minutes played in 2001, compared to 276 shots for the Nittany Lions. The last Penn State appearance in the NCAA Tournament was in 1999 when the team advanced to the quarterfinals, only to fall to eventual champion Indiana, 3-0.

Akron comes into the contest with a 10-6-1 record overall. The Zips are led by junior Torbjorn Birkeland with six goals and 13 points, followed by senior forward Tim Cooper with five goals and 12 points. Akron goalkeeper Kyle Milligan has a save percentage of .800, allowing 12 goals and making 48 saves. He has a record of 10-2-0 with four shutouts on the season.

South Florida enters Friday's matchup 14-6-0 overall. The Bulls are lead by Jason Cudjoe with 10 goals in 20 games played. Jeff Thwaites is second on the team in scoring, with nine goals and five assists through 19 games. Goalkeeper Troy Perkins has allowed 26 goals with 96 saves and has a record of 7-4-0 with eight shutouts on the season.

--LIONS---