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Penn State Advances to NCAA Women's Soccer Elite Eight
Nov. 21, 2005
Complete Release in PDF Format
Head coach Paula Wilkins tallied her 100th career victory as Penn State won its 13th straight match at home this season, defeating No. 4 seeded Texas A&M, 4-1, at Jeffrey Field on Saturday. Penn State earned its place in the Elite Eight on the foot of senior Tiffany Weimer, who scored her fourth career hat trick to help the Nittany Lions remain unbeaten at home in 2005 at 22-0-1. PSU will look to continue its streak when it hosts Santa Clara on Friday, Nov. 25 at 4:00 p.m. EST. The Broncos, the No. 2 seed in the championship, advanced through the first three rounds with wins over Fresno State (5-0), Saint Louis (4-0) and Boston College (1-0). Santa Clara is currently 17-4-2 overall and is making its eleventh straight quarterfinal appearance. Penn State recorded first and second round victories over Bucknell, 6-0, and West Virginia, 5-2, respectively. The No. 1 seeded Lions are making their seventh quarterfinal appearance in the championship after they claimed the conference regular season crown, recording a perfect 10-0 league record. The last time the two teams met was in the NCAA Tournament in 1996 in which Santa Clara handed Penn State a 3-1 loss. Five Big Ten teams were awarded bids to the 64-team field of the 2005 Championship, as Illinois, Michigan State, Purdue and Wisconsin also joined Penn State. Purdue and Wisconsin were the only Big Ten teams to lose in the first round, as the Boilermakers dropped a 6-5 penalty kick decision to Wisconsin-Milwaukee after remaining scoreless through regulation and two overtime periods and the Badgers fell to Marquette, 1-0, in Milwaukee. Illinois and Michigan State were victorious in the first round as the Illini downed Florida, 1-0, in overtime, while the Spartans defeated Bowling Green, 4-0. However, both teams saw their seasons end in second round action. Illinois dropped a heartbreaker to Florida State, 2-1, while Michigan State lost to Notre Dame, 3-0. Penn State and Wisconsin are the only Big Ten teams to have made it to the College Cup. The Nittany Lions lost in the semifinals in 2002 to Connecticut, 2-1, and in 1999 to North Carolina, 2-0. Wisconsin advanced to the championship match in 1991 before falling to the Tar Heels, 3-1.
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