Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/703041
T H E M A I N E V E N T WOMEN'S SOCCER WEST VIRGINIA @ PENN STATE 7 : 3 0 P . M . | A U G . 1 9 | J E F F R E Y F I E L D | B T N Penn State's 2016-17 athletic season will begin with one of its most successful pro- grams – the defending national champion women's soccer squad – playing host to a familiar nonconference rival. There's an unusual bit of symmetry to this year's opener, as the Nittany Lions faced West Virginia in the :nal home game of their 2015 season, defeating the Mountaineers, 2-0, at Je;rey Field in the quarter:nal round of the NCAA tournament. That game notwithstanding, West Virginia has given Penn State some trouble over the years. The Lions hold a slender 7-6-1 edge in the all-time series, and that record includes a loss last year. WVU was one of only three opponents to defeat the Nittany Lions, handing them a 1-0 loss in Morgantown in September. The Moun- taineers may not be at full strength for their 2016 opener, as two of their best players – seniors Kadeisha Buchanan and Ashley Lawrence – will be playing for Team Canada at the Summer Olympics in August. But Penn State has some rebuilding to do following the loss of MAC Hermann Trophy winner Raquel Rodriguez and star goalkeeper Britt Eckerstrom. Captains Brittany Basinger, Nickolette Driesse and Megan Schafer will have to play key roles if Penn State is to recapture the magic of its 2015 title run. That e;ort will begin in August in Je;rey Field's friendly con:nes. – M.H. SCORECARD ALL SPORTS Nittany Lions ranked 12th in Directors' Cup Boosted by the women's lacrosse team advancing to the NCAA semifi- nals and an NCAA second-round ap- pearance by the men's tennis squad, Penn State was No. 12 in the first spring compilation of the Learfield Directors' Cup standings. Penn State is seeking its 18th top-15 finish in the Directors' Cup. The Nit- tany Lions are among only nine pro- grams nationwide to have finished in the top 25 in all 22 Learfield Directors' Cup final standings. The Nittany Lions have 800.5 Direc- tors' Cup points, with 40 points sepa- rating eighth place (Florida, 836.75) from 13th (Notre Dame, 797.0). Stan- ford leads the Directors' Cup and is fol- lowed by Ohio State, Michigan, USC, North Carolina, UCLA, Virginia, Flori- da, Texas, California, Syracuse and Penn State. In the latest compilation, the women's lacrosse team earned 83 Di- rectors' Cup points by advancing to the NCAA semifinals for the first time since 1999. Led by coach Missy Doher- ty, the Nittany Lions fell to eventual national champion North Carolina, 12- 11, in the semifinals. Ranked No. 11 at the end of the regular season, Penn State defeated Winthrop, No. 2 seed Florida and No. 7 seed Penn en route to the national semifinals. The Lions were ranked No. 4 in the final polls. The Penn State men's tennis team de- livered 50 Directors' Cup points. Di- rected by coach Jeff Zinn, the No. 37 Nittany Lions earned their second NCAA tournament berth in the past three years, again advancing to the sec- ond round. Penn State defeated No. 25 Columbia in the NCAA first round be- fore falling to eventual national cham- pion Virginia in the second round. ■ FOOTBALL SEPTEMBER 3 KENT STATE......................................... 3:30 p.m. (BTN) 10 at Pitt............................................... Noon (ABC/ESPN) 17 TEMPLE......................................................Noon (BTN) 24 at Michigan............................................................TBA OCTOBER 1 MINNESOTA...........................................................TBA 8 MARYLAND.......................................................... Noon 22 OHIO STATE.........................8 p.m. (ABC/ESPN/ESPN2) 29 at Purdue.............................................................. TBA NOVEMBER 5 IOWA................................................... 7:30 p.m. (BTN) 12 at Indiana..............................................................TBA 19 at Rutgers................................................ 8 p.m. (BTN) 26 MICHIGAN STATE....................................................TBA WOMEN'S LACROSSE 14-7, 3-2 FEBRUARY 13 W at Lehigh........................................................1-0 20 W DUQUESNE.................................................. 19-5 27 L at Virginia.................................................. 16-13 MARCH 2 W at Johns Hopkins..........................................11-7 5 W LOYOLA MARYLAND...................................... 11-8 9 W at James Madison............................... 18-17 (OT) 12 W at Vanderbilt...............................................15-11 16 W PRINCETON................................................14-10 20 L at Stanford.................................................16-10 30 W DREXEL....................................................... 14-5 APRIL 2 W RUTGERS.....................................................16-9 9 L at Ohio State..............................................16-13 13 L CORNELL..................................................... 10-7 17 W at Michigan.................................................. 13-8 23 W NORTHWESTERN........................................ 17-13 28 L MARYLAND.................................................. 10-9 MAY 5-8 Big Ten Tournament at Northwestern 6 Semifinal round L Northwestern..........................................9-6 13-29 NCAA Tournament 13 First round at Florida W Winthrop...............................................16-6 15 Second round at Florida W Florida.........................................14-13 (OT) 21 Quarter final round at Penn State W PENN..................................................... 8-4 27 Semifinal round at Chester, Pa. L North Carolina.................................... 12-11