Here we go with my weekly PSU athletic report. I really didn’t plan on doing this on a weekly basis but we just kept winning and the superstitious side of me said “don’t do anything different”.
Friday afternoon started off with the #6 ranked women’s field hockey team travelling to #9 Indiana to take on the Hoosiers in a match to decide the #1 seed in the conference tournament. Penn State had already clinched at least a share of the title but Indiana could have tied them with a victory. However, the women were not to be denied. They won 4-3 in overtime, their school record 17th straight win, to become the third Penn State athletic team to lock up sole possession of a Big Ten Championship.
Then later Friday night, the #3 ranked took on #11 ranked Wisconsin here in Happy Valley. The women were the only undefeated team in the conference and came into the match with a two game lead over Wisconsin. The ladies knocked out a 3-1 victory over Wisconsin to get a stranglehold on the conference title a little over halfway through the season.
Saturday the football team remained atop the conference with a 33-15 win over Purdue. Penn State controls their destiny in their hunt for a BCS bowl bid. Win the next two games and they will be headed to either the Fiesta, Orange, or Sugar Bowls. The victory sets up a huge battle for next Saturday when Wisconsin comes to town. Wisconsin and PSU are currently tied atop the conference and Saturday’s game will go a long way toward determining the conference champ. On the national scene, Penn State will move up to #8 in the BCS rankings when they are announced tomorrow.
On Saturday night, the women’s volleyball team hosted Northwestern in a conference battle. The ladies won easily in a 3-0 sweep of the Wildcats. The win not only kept the team undefeated in league play but it gave them a 3 game lead in the championship race virtually insuring that they will claim a third straight league title.
On Sunday the 20th ranked men’s soccer team took on Michigan. The men had already locked up the Big Ten title but this battle was to ensure that they finished the season undefeated within the conference. Sure enough, they prevailed 3-2 in overtime.
The men’s soccer game was the final Penn State Big Ten conference battle of the weekend and left the Nits with a perfect 5-0 conference all sports record and stretched our athletic teams records to an absolutely incredible 37-1 in conference play. We have locked in three B10 titles (field hockey, mens soccer, womens soccer), have a solid three game lead in volleyball, and control our destiny in football. No Big Ten athletic program has ever claimed all five fall team titles but we have an excellent chance of doing so. Also, all five of our programs are ranked in the top twenty in their respective sports and no other school in the country can currently make that claim.
While conference play was finished for the weekend, there were still two other contests to be held. The #1 ranked womens soccer team had already locked in their Big Ten championship but they went on todefeat Navy 5-0 in their final match of the season to remain the only unbeaten untied team in the nation. This was the first perfect season in the short history of the womens soccer program.
Lastly, the #6 ranked and Big Ten Champion womens field hockey team traveled to Chapel Hill to take on the #3 ranked Lady Tarheels in a big intersectional battle. Unfortunately, another perfect weekend was not to be when the girls lost a heartbreaker to North Carolina 3-2 in overtime. The loss ended the girls school record 17 game winning streak. The girls ended their season at 17-2 and will go for the Big Ten Tournament title beginning Saturday.
Almost a perfect weekend, but 7-1 is pretty darn good anyway.