Nov. 15, 2008

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Penn State embarks on its 25th NCAA postseason appearance when it faces No. 9 Princeton Saturday at 2 p.m. The Nittany Lions find themselves foraying into an unfamiliar location as this postseason's trip to Syracuse, N.Y. marks the first time they have traveled to a first-round game outside of College Park, Md. since 1999.

This year's squad looks to build upon last season's postseason run to the Final Four, in which the Nittany Lions advanced to the NCAA Championship game.

The Nittany Lions and the Tigers face off for the second time this season. On Sept. 24, Penn State suffered a harrowing defeat to the Ivy League Champions, 3-2. The Tigers' only goals were scored by Katie Klinzer, Katie Reinprecht and Kathleen Sharkey in a 2:36 duration, and they held the Nittany Lions to one shot in the second half as it moved to a 5-1 record. Daneen Zug tallied both goals for Penn State in the loss.

Following the loss to Princeton, Penn State fueled its way to a nine-game winning streak en route to a Big Ten regular season title.

Princeton, which won the Ivy League title outright, dismantled NorPac champion Stanford, 8-2, to set its bid to the NCAAs. It is on a seven-game win streak since losing to No. 1 Maryland, 5-1.

The first-round game can be followed on the internet at GoPSUsports.com via GameTracker. Click the GameTracker link on today's game on the schedule to load application.

Should Penn State rule victorious Saturday, it will play the winner of Syracuse-Massachusetts in the championship game Sunday.

The Series vs. Princeton

Penn State holds a 22-4 advantage over Princeton in the all-time series between the two schools. The teams have faced each other in each of the last eight seasons, with Penn State winning the past eight contests, including in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2002 en route to the NCAA championship game. The Tigers, despite historically struggling against the Nittany Lions, have found success against Penn State in the postseason. Princeton is 2-3 against the Nittany Lions in playoff action. Prior to this season, Princeton's last win in the series came in 2000, when the Tigers defeated the Nittany Lions both during the regular season and in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers' only other win in the series came in the second round of the 1998 NCAA Tournament. The series began in 1979 when Penn State topped Princeton in the first round of the AIAW National Tournament.

Princeton's only losses came to No. 1 Maryland and No. 4 Connecticut. The Tigers held a 2-0 lead, but eventually lost 3-2 in double overtime. Penn State lost 1-0 to the Huskies earlier this season. Every team in Syracuse, N.Y. this weekend has fallen to Connecticut this season.

The Tigers feature a team which is heavy with depth. Kristen Holmes-Winn's squad returns 19 letterwinners and 10 starters from last year. The Tigers lost to Massachusetts in the NCAA play-in game last season. They have nine seniors on their roster.

Since starting out the season strong, Princeton's shots-against average has risen 1.8 shots.

Prior to Tuesday's stomping of Stanford, Princeton ranks third in the nation in scoring average (4.22), goals per game (4.29) and scoring margin (2.83). While Princeton is second in penalty corners per game at 10.41, it struggling mightily to earn penalty corner opportunities when it played in University Park, Pa. earlier this season. It is fourth in points per game at 11.59.

Princeton has seen major production from three players this season, all of who scored more than 12 goals this season. Kathleen Sharkey leads the Tigers with 14 goals. Kate Reinprecht, who was instrumental in the win over Penn State earlier, has the team lead in assists (12) and points (38). Holly McGarvie also comes in with 28 points for the season.

The Tigers split goalkeeping duties this season. Elissa Unger has a 0.67 goals-against average on the season, although she has only been in net for a short matter of time. Cynthia Wray has also seen time in the net. Princeton averages an outstanding 25.4 shots per game this season.

Scouting the Nittany Lions

Penn State comes into the conference tournament swaggering after winning the regular season championship. The Nittany Lions have used key positional changes, a balanced scoring attack and a stifling defensive front to dismiss opposing offenses.

Defensively leading the charge is Jen Long, last year's Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year; Amy Bonenberger, who has tallied three crucial game-winning goals; and one of the nation's top goalkeepers, Jen Beaumont. Beaumont is second in the nation in save percentage, deterring 82.1 percent of shots on goal. Penn State is second in shutouts, holding opponents to no goals every other game this season.

Sporting the offensive front is Allison Scola, who leads the team in assists (13) and points (27). After starting off the season cold, Scola produced late in the season, earning a seven-game point streak during a portion of the season. Likewise, Daneen Zug has stepped up for the Nittany Lions on penalty corners and now leads the team with 10 goals. Bethany Marvel and Jessica Longstreth have both filled in, earning vital points for Penn State throughout the season.