GAME 23: Nov. 11-12, NCAA Tournament First & Second Rounds
Nov. 11 #3 Maryland Terps (18-3) vs. New Hampshire (14-7), 11 a.m.
Nov. 11 Penn State Lady Lions (17-5) vs. Princeton Tigers (13-3), 2 p.m.
Nov. 12. NCAA Tournament Second Round Game, 2 p.m.
ARTIFICIAL TURF FACILITY, College Park, Md.

The Big Dance: The Lady Lions are making their 19th-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Only No. 1-seeded Old Dominion has made it to the "Big Dance" more times (20th trip). With an overall record of 13-22 in post-season play, Penn State is 11-8 in its opening tournament game.

This is the second meeting in three weeks between Penn State and Princeton. In the last meeting, the then-No. 7 ranked Tigers pulled off the slight upset over the then-No. 6-ranked Lady Lions, 3-1.

Penn State Coach's Corner: Head coach Charlene Morett is in her 14th season at the Lady Lion helm and 17th overall. She boasts an overall record of 270-90-16 and a 233-74-8 record at Penn State. She has guided each of her Penn State squads to the NCAA Tournament, and has a 9-15 record in the tournament. Her 2000 Lady Lions have received 12 postseason honors so far, including Big Ten Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year (Traci Anselmo). Morett has coached the last four Big Ten Players of the Year. Since entering the Big Ten in 1992, her team's have garnered three conference titles and an unprecedented four-straight tournament titles from 1995-98. How they got here: In this bracket, #3 Maryland and Princeton received automatic bids. The reigning national champion Terps received the bid by winning the 2000 ACC Tournament.

Princeton made it to the tournament by way of automatic qualification. The Tigers won their seventh-consecutive Ivy League Championship.

Penn State, making its 19th-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, recieved an at-large bid. The Big Ten automic berth went to Michigan when the Wolverines defeated the Lions, 3-2, in the conference championship game.

The 20th-ranked Wilcats made their first appearance in the polls this week, and were awarded one of the eight at-large bids. New Hampshire is making its first trip to the tournament since 1998.

In the Tournament: Old Dominion took the top spot in the tournament as the number one seed, while three ACC teams claimed the final three seeded spots. North Carolina is the second-seeded team, followed by No. 3 Maryland and No. 4 Wake Forest. Also representing the ACC is Virginia. The ACC had the most number of teams in the tournament.

The Big Ten, Ivy Group, America East and Colonial Athletic Conference each has two teams in the NCAA Tournament. Besides Penn State, Michigan won the Big Ten's automatic berth, defeating the Lady Lions, 3-2, in the championship game. Princeton and Harvard from the Ivy Group, ODU and William and Mary from the Colonial Athletic and New Hamshire and Boston University from the America East will be playing in this weekend's games.

Connecticut from the Big East, Massachu-setts from the Atlantic 10, the Pac-10's Stanford and the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference's Kent State complete the 16-team bracket.

Penn State vs. the Field of 16: Of the 15 other teams invited to the "Big Dance," the Lady Lions have faced seven during regular season action. Penn State dropped games to Old Dominion (4-3) and North Carolina (2-1 OT) by one goal early in the season, and lost to Princeton (3-1) three weeks ago. However, the Lions came away with wins against Connecticut (5-4), Virginia (3-1) and Kent State (2-0). Michigan and Penn State battled twice during the season, once during the regular season and in the conference champioship game, with the Wolverines claiming both games by one-goal each.

Scouting Princeton: Ranked sixth in the country, the Tigers defeated the Lions three weeks ago, 3-1. A seven-time Ivy League Champion, Princeton has four players with 20 or more points on the season. Senior Hilary Matson is leading the team in scoring with team-highs of 14 goals and 14 assists.

PSU vs. PU: Penn State has an overwhelming lead in the all-time series, 14-2. However, both of the Tigers' wins have come in the last two meetings. The Lions met Princeton in the NCAA Tournament twice. In 1994, the Lady Lions defeated the Tigers, 5-0, at home in the first round of NCAA's. In 1998, Princeton defeated PSU, 3-1, in the NCAA quarterfinals. These two teams have never met at a neutral site for the NCAA Tournament.

Last Time Out: Penn State lost in the Big Ten Championship game to Michigan, 3-2, in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines jumped out to a 3-0 lead and appeared to have the game put away. However, in the final seven minutes of the game, a goal by redshirt freshman Cenna Wilkerson (the first of her career) and a penalty stroke by senior Traci Anselmo brought the game to within one with a little more than two minutes to go in the game. But the rally ended there, as U-M was able to hang on to the win and successfully defend its Big Ten title.

Lions Honored at Big Tens: Senior Traci Anselmo is capping a successful career as expected. At the Big Ten Tournament, she was voted the Big Ten Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. She became the fourth-consecutive Lady Lion to win the Player of the Year honor. Along with Anselmo, receiving honors, were junior Kiley Kulina and Maegan Galie who were all named first team all-conference. Kulina makes the jump up after being selected second team last fall. Galie earns the honor for the third time.

Also receiving all-conference honors for the first time were junior Meredith Shulzitski, sophomore Jill Martz, and true freshman Neilye Stoner as each were named to the second team.

Despite missing a month of the season, senior Mandy Robinson garnered all-conference laurels for the first time. She was voted to the second team. Anselmo, Martz and redshirt freshman Timarie Legel, who played outstanding in the tournament, were selected to the all-tournament team.

Injury Update: After the regular-season loss to Michigan on October 20, the Lady Lions were handed some bad news. Two players, true freshman Neilye Stoner and junior Kiley Kulina, were injured and were expected to miss the rest of the regular season. However, after two weeks of rest and with the trainers working on them, both have seen action in the postseason and are expected to contiue to contribute in the NCAA Tournament.

Senior Mandy Robinson has been out for a month with a stress fracture in her hip. She was hoping to see action at NCAA's but it looks as if she will be supporting her teammates from the bench. Also, sophmore Nora Graber, who played in every game last season, has not been able to step on the field during the 2000 campaign because of an injury.

In the Big Ten Tournament: The Lady Lions have had much success in the seven years of the Big Ten Tournament. Penn State has gone on to win four crowns, while posting an impressive 11-3 record. Penn State is also one of just three teams to ever in the crown. Last season, Michigan became the first team besides Iowa and Penn State to ever win the crown.

Win Streak Ends at 11: The Lady Lions were on an 11-game tear until Michigan came to Bigler Field and defeated Penn State, 1-0, in a Big Ten showdown. The win assured Michigan of at least a tie for the Big Ten regular season title. The 11-game win streak was the longest since 1993 when the Lions won a school-record 15-consecutive games. In that season, the Lions won the Big Ten regular season and tournament crowns. That season also saw PSU advance to the NCAA Tournament Final Four.

At Home: The Lady Lions have been tough to beat at home. In the program's 36-year history, it has notched a 216-43-13 record. Penn State has been even better since moving to Bigler Field from Holuba Field in 1996. The Lions have won 39 of 46 games and set the school record with 25 straight-home wins last year. The streak spanned 1997-99.

Anselmo Tabbed Top Penn State Fall Athlete: In a web site fan poll administered by www.GoPSUsports.com, the fans voted senior co-captain Traci Anselmo Penn State's Top Fall Athlete. Anslemo won the poll by a large margin, garnering 41.5% of the votes. She led women's soccer star Christie Welsh (23.8), men's soccer standout Derek Potteiger (14.6), cross country runner Chris McGinness (12.9) and NCAA Championship volleyball team member Mishka Levy (7.2).

Players of the Week!
Galie Named Player of the Week: For the second time this season, senior Maegan Galie was named Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week. She helped to lead the Lions to two-consecutive victories to close out the regular season. She tallied a goal each at Penn and Ohio State and also picked up an assist against the Quakers. Galie was just one of two Lions involved in the scoring in those two games. She leads the team in assists and is second in scoring.

Martz/Kulina Named Players of the Week: Sophomore Jill Martz picks up her second-straight Player of the Week honor, while junior Kiley Kulina receives the honor for the first time this season. Martz' defensive efforts in the three games last week allowed Penn State to give up just two shots and two penalty corners for the week. She also notched at least one point in each of the three contests.

Kulina earns Offensive Player of the Week after collecting 11 points on four goals and three assists in the games. Against Northwestern and West Chester, she notched two goals and an assist.

Martz Named Player of the Week: The Penn State defense and sophomore defender Jill Martz had a solid week last week. Martz's defensive efforts led to Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors. A starter on defense in every game, to limit Temple and Indiana to a combined six shots, while helping PSU goalkeepers post the fifth shutout of the season over the Hoosiers on Saturday. IU was allowed just one shot for the game. Martz's defense in the two contests allowed for transition opportunities which resulted in two assists and her first career goal. The Penn State defense has been solid all season, with Martz playing a key role. The times has the Lion defense not given up a shot or a penalty corner for the entire game.

Galie Named Player of the Week: For the third time this season a Lady Lion has been honored for her play on the field. Senior Maegan Galie notched the game-tying and game-winning goals in the 3-2 overtime win at No. 18 Michigan State. Her efforts in that game earned her Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors. It is the first time she receives the honor this season. She leads the team in assists and is second in scoring.

Anselmo Named Player of the Week: Senior co-captain Traci Anselmo had a breakout weekend at Connecticut and Boston College. During that weekend, she notched 11 points which led to Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week laurels for the first time this season. She led the team to a 5-4 victory against the Huskies with four goals. Against the Eagles, Anselmo recorded a goal and an assist. The 1999 All-American was named Big Ten Player of the Week and National Player of the Week once last season en route to a slew of honors.

Zinkavich Named Player of the Week: Redshirt freshman Annie Zinkavich made her first collegiate appearance in the Lady Lions' season opener against Old Dominion. In 44 minutes of playing time, Zinkavich did not give up an ODU goal and made six saves. The following day against Kent State, she earned her first career start and posted her first career shutout in 70 minutes. Her performances earned her Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors for the first week of the season.

Among the Big Ten Leaders (as of 10/31): After this weekend's Big Ten Tournament, Big Ten Player of the Year Traci Anselmo is tied for the conference lead in scoring with 45. Senior Maegan Galie is third with 40. This year's Lady Lion success has had a great deal to do with the performances of these two athletes. Junior Kiley Kulina was having an outstanding season. Despite missing the final three games of the season, she still ranks seventh with 31 points.

Other Lions among the Big Ten's top 25: Timarie Legel is 12th, Jill Martz is 16th, Neilye Stoner is 17th. Meredith Shulzitski is tied for 22nd. The Nation's Leaders: For a team-by-team comparison of the statistical leaders, check page 6.

Lions "D"-Up: The Lions' defense has been tough to penetrate this season. The stingy backfield has not allowed a shot attempt in four games and three times it has not given up a penalty corner. Maybe that is why Penn State is ranked 13th in scoring defense, allowing just 1.16 goals per game as of November 7. St. Joseph's was the first foe that the Lions blanked in the shots column in early September. The three other times the Lions silenced its opponents' attack, they also did not allow a corner. Syracuse fell to the Lions 1-0 in overtime, but had no attack to speak of, taking zero shots and forcing zero corners. The same was the case with West Chester and the Big Ten's Northwestern. Four other times, the Lions allowed two or fewer shots.

Lions On Offense: The Lions have poured on the offense in 2000. With an offense ranked seventh in the nation, scoring 3.66 goals per game, Penn State has scored more than three times their opponents, tallying 82 goals on the season compared to 26 opponent goals. PSU has shut out nine opponents and has a 2.50 margin of victory as of Nov. 7, which ranks seventh in the nation.

Century Mark: With two assists in the 4-0 win over St. Joseph's, senior co-captain Traci Anselmo became the 12th Lady Lion to ever register 100 career points. She now is just three points behind Eleanor Stone ('91) in seventh with 139 points. Her five goals at Connecticut (4) and at Boston College (1) not only put her in the top 10 on Penn State's career goals list, but she catapulted up the charts and is ranked fifth all-time with 57 career goals. She also made her first appearance among the top 10 in all-time assists. She is tied for 10th with 25 points.

Approaching the Top: Senior Maegan Galie ranks among the best field hockey players in Penn State history. She moved into the top 10 on Penn State's career goals list earlier this season. Galie is alone in sixth with 54 goals. Galie is already in the top 10 in career assists and career points. She passed 1999 Big Ten Player of the Year Tracey Larson and has 46 (6th) after picking up one at Penn. Third all-time with 154 career points, passing 1998 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Dawn Lammey. Meanwhile, senior co-captain Traci Anselmo entered the top 10 in goals and points this season as well. She has made a steady climb all season and is now fifth with 57 goals. She passed 1999 Big Ten Player of the Year Tracey Larson on the career points list and is in seventh place with 139. She made her first appearance on the assists list. She is tied for 10th with 25.

Lions Represent the U.S.: A number of Lady Lions represented the United States in the spring and summer of 2000. The Big Ten's 1999 Player of the Year and former Lion Tracey Larson secured a spot on the U.S. National squad for the second-straight year. Senior Maegan Galie was named to the Under 21 squad in February and then moved up to the Developmental Team that toured Canada this summer. Senior co-captain Traci Anselmo was again a member of the Senior Reserve Team, while junior Kliey Kulina and sophomore Jill Martz were both members of the Under 21 team.

Tough Slate: The Lady Lions have traditionally taken on one of the toughest schedules in the nation, and the 2000 campaign is no different. Appearing on the schedule are seven of this season's 16 NCAA Tournament teams (ODU, Kent State, Michigan, UVA, UNC, UConn, Princeton). Big Ten foe Michigan was an NCAA finalist. Eleven of the 20 teams ranked in this week's STX/NFHCA National Coaches polls are Penn State opponents, including six of the top 10.