State College Pa., June 25, 2004 - Penn State will open the 2004 Field Hockey season at home against perennial powerhouse Old Dominion on Aug. 28. Last year the Nittany Lions upset the Lady Monarchs, 6-2, at Old Dominion.

Coming off an 18-7 season, Penn State will be led by seniors Amanda Eckert, Karin Grap and Michele Rigby. Last year Eckert was a second-team All-Big Ten selection and a first-team All-Mideast Region honoree. Grap and junior Rebekah Hostetler were also second-team All-Mideast Region selections. Head Coach Char Morett returns for her 18th year at Penn State. She is the fourth all-time winningest coach in Division-I Field Hockey with 320 wins, and her 283 victories at Penn State leave her with a good chance to eclipse the 300-win plateau at her alma mater in the 2004 season.

Penn State's Big Ten opener will be at Ohio State on Sept. 25, while the Big Ten home opener vs. Indiana is slated for Oct. 2. The Big Ten Tournament will be held in Evanston, Ill., hosted by Northwestern, Nov. 5 - 7.

In addition to the opener vs. Old Dominion, the Nittany Lions play an additional eight games at home vs. North Carolina (Sept. 12), Temple (Sept. 15), Lafayette (Sept. 17), Princeton (Sept. 28), Indiana (Oct. 2), Iowa (Oct. 15) and Michigan (Oct. 30).

The Lions will hit the road for 11 games this regular season, including Connecticut (Sept. 4), Northeastern (Sept. 5, played in Storrs, Conn.), James Madison (Sept. 10), Saint Joseph's (Sept. 19), Syracuse (Sept. 22), Ohio State (Sept. 25), West Chester (Oct. 3), Michigan State (Oct. 9), Northwestern (Oct. 22), Duke (Oct. 23, played in Evanston, Ill.), and Bucknell (Lewisburg, Pa.).

For more information on Penn State Field Hockey, visit the official website of Penn State athletics at www.gopsusports.com.

2004 NITTANY LION FIELD HOCKEY SCHEDULE

 August Sat. 28 Old Dominion University Park, Pa. 12 p.m. September Sat. 4 Connecticut Storrs, Conn. 12 p.m. Sun. 5 Northeastern Storrs, Conn. 12 p.m. Fri. 10 James Madison Harrisonburg, Va. 6 p.m. Sun. 12 North Carolina University Park, Pa. 12 p.m. Wed. 15 Temple University Park, Pa. 5 p.m. Fri. 17 Lafayette University Park, Pa. 7 p.m. Sun. 19 Saint Joseph's Philadelphia, Pa. 12 p.m. Wed. 22 Syracuse Syracuse, N.Y. 4 p.m. Sat. 25 Ohio State* Columbus, Ohio 1 p.m. Tues. 28 Princeton University Park, Pa. 6 p.m. October Sat. 2 Indiana* University Park, Pa. 12 p.m. Sun. 3 West Chester West Chester, Pa. 12 p.m. Sat. 9 Michigan State* East Lansing, Mich. 6 p.m. Fri. 15 Iowa* University Park, Pa.. 5 p.m. Fri. 22 Northwestern* Evanston, Ill. 3 p.m. Sat. 23 Duke Evanston, Ill. 2 p.m. Tues. 26 Bucknell Lewisburg, Pa. 5 p.m. Sat. 30 Michigan* University Park, Pa. 12 p.m. November Fri.-Sun. 5-7 2003 Big Ten Tournament Evantson, Ill. * - indicates Big Ten game BOLD indicates home game all game times local to site