STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - The Penn State field hockey team has released its schedule for the 2002 season, head coach Charlene Morett announced today.

"I am looking forward to another competitive schedule and I believe we have accomplished that with this year's slate," Morett said. "The Big Ten is always tough and with Michigan returning as the defending national champion that should make our league that much more challenging. We are also excited to have North Carolina coming in here on a football weekend and to be hosting Old Dominion as well."

Penn State will open the 2002 slate at home when they face Lafayette in a non-conference game on Sept. 1. The Nittany Lions will open the Big Ten schedule on Sept. 27 when they travel to East Lansing, Mich., to battle Michigan State.

Other key non-conference home games include Temple (Sept. 13), North Carolina (Sept. 15), Bucknell (Oct. 8) and Old Dominion (Oct. 27). Penn State will face Connecticut (Sept. 6), Syracuse (Sept. 18), St. Joseph (Sept. 21), West Chester (Sept. 22), Wake Forest (Oct. 12), James Madison (Oct. 13) and Pennsylvania (Oct. 30) in non-league contests on the road.

Defending national champion Michigan will visit Penn State on Oct. 25, while other home Big Ten games include Indiana (Sept. 29) and Iowa (Nov. 1).

Penn State will face a total of seven teams during the 2002 season, which qualified for the 2001 NCAA Tournament, including defending national champion Michigan and national semifinalist Wake Forest.

The Nittany Lions return 14 letterwinners and eight starters from last season's squad which finished 12-7 overall and 3-3 in the Big Ten.

2002 Penn State Field Hockey Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Time
Sept. 1	Lafayette	State College, Pa.	2:00 p.m.
Sept. 6	at Connecticut	Stoors, Conn.	6:00 p.m.
Sept. 13	Temple	State College, Pa.	5:00 p.m.
Sept. 15	North Carolina	State College, Pa.	12:00 p.m.
Sept. 18	at Syracuse	Syracuse, N.Y.	3:00 p.m.
Sept. 21	at St. Joseph	Philadelphia, Pa.	12:00 p.m.
Sept. 22	vs. Westchester (1)	Philadelphia, Pa.	12:00 p.m.
Sept. 27	at Michigan State*	East Lansing, Mich.	7:00 p.m.
Sept. 29	Indiana*	State College, Pa.	12:00 p.m.
Oct. 5	at Northwestern*	Evanston, Ill.	TBA
Oct. 8	Bucknell	State College, Pa.	7:00 p.m.
Oct. 12	vs. Wake Forest (2)	Harrisonburg, Va.	2:00 p.m.
Oct. 13	at James Madison	Harrisonburg, Va.	1:00 p.m.
Oct. 19	at Ohio State*	Columbus, Ohio	12:00 p.m.
Oct. 25	Michigan*	State College, Pa.	4:00 p.m.
Oct. 27	Old Dominion	State College, Pa.	1:00 p.m.
Oct. 30	at Pennsylvania	Philadelphia, Pa.	7:00 p.m.
Nov. 1	Iowa*	State College, Pa.	5:00 p.m.
Nov. 8-10	at Big Ten Tournament	TBA	TBA

(1) at St. Joseph's (Philadelphia, Pa.)
(2) at James Madison (Harrisonburg, Va.)

* Indicates Big Ten game
Bold Indicates Home Game
All Times Local To Site