PROGRAM HISTORY On August 5, 1993, then-athletic director Jim Tarman officially announced that women’s soccer would become Penn State’s 14th women’s varsity sport and 29th varsity athletic team overall. Not since 1977, when Penn State granted women’s volleyball varsity status, had another sport been added to the Nittany Lions’ elite athletic program. In its 26-year varsity history, the Nittany Lion women’s soccer program has grown by leaps and bounds. Here’s a look at its history, so far... 1977 • Jan.: A group of female athletes organized the International Soccer Club – Women’s Division on campus. 1979 • Jan.: The University formally recognized women’s soccer as an independent club sport. 1993 • Nov.: In its final club season, Penn State compiled a 7-5-1 record. Seven team members made the varsity roster in 1994. 1994 • Jan. 7: Patrick Farmer was hired as the first head coach of Penn State women’s soccer after a very successful career at Ithaca College. • Sept. 3: The Nittany Lions took the field for the first time, losing at James Madison, 4-1. Freshman Rachel Hoffman recorded the team’s first-ever goal. • Sept. 11: Penn State claimed its first women’s soccer victory with a 4-1 win at Towson State. • Sept. 18: With a 2-1 win over Indiana, PSU won its first home game at Jeffrey Field while recording its first Big Ten win. • Oct. 7: Unranked Penn State registered its first upset of a nationally ranked foe, knocking off No. 8 Wisconsin, 3-0, in Madison, Wis. • Nov. 4: Following their inaugural varsity season, the Lions participated in their first-ever Big Ten Tournament. 1995 • Oct. 10: Penn State jumped into the national spotlight, receiving its first national ranking. The Lions debuted at No. 17 in Soccer America’s poll and No. 22 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America coaches’ poll. • Nov. 3: After finishing the regular season third in Big Ten play, the Lions won their first Big Ten Tournament game with a 1-0 win over Michigan State. • November 11: The Nittany Lions competed in their first NCAA Tournament, fall to James Madison, 2-1, in First Round action at Jeffrey Field. 46
PENN STATE 2020 • Women’s Soccer
1996 • Nov. 12: Moving up the national poll, the Nittany Lions finished the season with their then-highest national ranking to date at No. 9. • Nov. 17: Penn State claimed its first NCAA Tournament victory with a 2-0 shutout at No. 19 George Mason. 1997 • Aug. 3: Making international history, Penn State became the first American women’s team to play in England’s Wembley Stadium. The Nittany Lions lost to the London Select Team, 3-2, before 40,000 fans. Junior Carole Dutchka became only the second American, and first-ever American woman, to score a goal in Wembley. • Nov. 16: Senior Rachel Hoffman concluded her PSU career as the Lions’ most decorated player. The four-time AllBig Ten and NSCAA All-Region selection ended her four-year stint as the Big Ten’s all-time scoring leader. She also set every PSU career scoring mark. 1998 • Sept. 4: Freshman Bonnie Young recorded the Lions’ first-ever hat trick in a 3-0 upset of No. 18 Maryland. Sophomore Jeannine Verdrager assisted on all three goals. • Oct. 5: Penn State received its thenhighest national ranking at No. 6, a spot it held for two weeks. • Oct. 18: With a 4-2 win at No. 20 Wisconsin, Penn State clinched its firstever Big Ten Championship with a 7-1-1 record. • Nov. 8: The Nittany Lions claimed their first-ever Big Ten Tournament title with a 2-0 shutout of Ohio State. The game was also televised by Fox Sports Chicago, marking the first-ever broadcast of a women’s soccer match from Jeffrey Field. • Nov. 29: The Nittany Lions advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals, losing to eventual national champion Florida, 3-1, in Gainesville. • Dec. 8: Junior Kelly Convey became the first Nittany Lion named NSCAA Division I First-Team All-American. 1999 • Sept. 5: After just one hat trick in five years of Penn State history, freshman Christie Welsh notched four goals in the 4-2 win over James Madison. The AllAmerican finished her initial campaign with three hat tricks while rewriting every game and season scoring record. • Sept. 12: Before a crowd of 4,213, thenNo. 5 Penn State recorded the biggest upset in school history when it knocked off of No. 1 UNC, 3-2, in Chapel Hill. Named the MVP for the UNC Tournament, Emily
PENN STATE PLAYS IN LONDON’S HISTORIC WEMBLEY STADIUM
Penn State women’s soccer etched its name into the Wembley Stadium record book during its 1997 Summer European Tour. On August 3, 1997, before a near-sellout crowd, Penn State played an exhibition match with the London Select Team prior to the annual FA Community Shield Match, which pitted the men’s regular-season league champion (Manchester United) against the league cup winner (Chelsea FC). The Nittany Lions became the first American women’s team to play in England’s Wembley Stadium. Carole Dutchka also became only the second American and firstever American woman to score a goal in Wembley when she tied the score 1-1 late in the first half. Trailing 2-1 midway through the second half, Shari Pickett knocked in a goal to tie the score. But with 8:00 left to play, England scored the final goal to post the 3-2 win in front of 40,000 fans. “Our entire team was excited about (the tour) and about the chance to play in one of the great historical stadiums worldwide,” said then-Penn State head coach Patrick Farmer. “We saw some different styles of play, and we experienced soccer as more than just a sport. In Europe, the game is a phenomena, it’s a part of the culture. The trip was a great opportunity for our players.” At halftime of the FA Community Shield Match, the Nittany Lions challenged the London Select Team in a penalty kick shootout. Proceeds from the event went to the Charity Shield, England’s equivalent of the U.S. United Way. But Wembley wasn’t Penn State’s only stop. On August 5, the Nittany Lions captured a 4-2 win from Millwall Football Club, the top-ranked club team in the Premier Division, on live national television. Dutchka notched a goal to send the game into halftime knotted 1-1. After falling behind early in the second stanza, PSU reeled off three unanswered goals from Rachel Hoffman, Kelly Convey and Dutchka for the win. PSU also traveled to Belgium for a match with the Dutch Select Team and to Germany for the S.V. Hemmerdon Frauenfussball Tournament.
Oleksiuk saved a penalty kick to preserve the win. • Oct. 8: In the 3-2 overtime win at Iowa, goalkeeper Emily Oleksiuk made school history as the first keeper to record a scoring statistic, assisting All-American Kelly Convey’s goal. • Oct. 24: Sophomore goalkeeper Emily Oleksiuk became the Lions’ all-time winningest keeper with her 34th victory after 42 games in the 3-2 win at George Mason. • Nov. 4: The back-to-back Big Ten Champion Nittany Lions swept the league’s annual honors as Christie Welsh earned Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year accolades.
25-Straight NCAA Tournament Appearances 1995-2019
