April 27, 2009

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State University and the Nittany Lion women's lacrosse program will proudly serve as hosts of the 2009 American Lacrosse Conference Championship from April 30-May 2. All games of the third annual conference postseason tournament will be played at Jeffrey Field in University Park, Pa.

"We are very excited about hosting the 2009 ALC Championship," said nine-year Penn State head Suzanne Isidor. "To have the conference field, which consists of some of the top teams and best players in the nation, come to Happy Valley and play at Jeffrey Field will be terrific. The tournament has been a great success through its first two years of existence and we look to carry on that tradition. It will undoubtedly be a highly competitive tournament with a lot of great games."

Action will kickoff on Thurs., April 30 when the No. 4 seed Vanderbilt (9-5, 2-2 ALC) takes on fifth-seeded Johns Hopkins (5-11, 0-4 ALC) at 3 p.m. The Commodores won the teams' regular season meeting, topping the Blue Jays, 18-8, in Nashville, Tenn. Following the opening round game, members of the 2009 All-ALC first and second teams will be announced and recognized by fans in attendance.

Top seed and two-time defending ALC champion Northwestern (17-0, 4-0 ALC) awaits the winner of the Vanderbilt-Johns Hopkins contest for a 3 p.m. semifinal match-up on Fri., May 1. The reigning four-time national champion Wildcats defeated Vanderbilt on Feb. 27, 22-10, and bested Johns Hopkins on 16-7 on April 17. Northwestern has yet to lose an ALC Championship game through the tournament's first two years of existence.

Second-seeded Penn State (8-7, 2-2 ALC) will face No. 3 seed Ohio State (11-5, 2-2 ALC) in Friday's second semifinal at 5:30 p.m. The meeting between the teams' will be the second in two weeks, as the Nittany Lions knocked off the Buckeyes, 13-9, on April 19 at Jeffrey Field. Penn State and Ohio State have clashed in each of the first two ALC Championships with PSU winning both.

The 2009 American Lacrosse Conference Championship title game is scheduled for Sat., May 2 at 2 p.m.

Fans can follow all of the action at the 2009 ALC Championship on the Internet with live stats and instant scoring updates through Gametracker and with a live video webcast from Jeffrey Field. Find links on the official website of Nittany Lion athletics, www.GoPSUsports.com.

Tickets for the 2009 ALC Championship will be sold on game day at the gate only. Ticket prices are $7 for Adults and $4 for students/youth. Groups of 20 or more (any age) are $3.