Here is Penn State's 2003 Schedule: August 20 - Binghamton (Oxford, NY) 23 - West Virginia (Elco, PA) 29 - UCLA (Cal Fullerton Tournament) 31 - Cal Fullerton (Cal Fullerton Tournament) September 5 - Bradley (Ohio State Classic) 7 - Tulsa (Ohio State Classic) 13 - Harwick (Penn State Nike Classic) 14 - Boston College (Penn State Nike Classic) 19 - at Akron 21 - St. Bonaventure 26 - at Indiana October 2 - Northwestern 5 - Wisconsin 12 - at Ohio State 16 - Maryland (at Hershey Park) 19 - at Michigan State 26 - Michigan 29 - Lehigh November 2 - TBA 5 - at Villanova There's a couple of great matchups, including a rematch with UCLA, a clash with Maryland in Hershey, and their renewed rivalry with Boston College. It's too bad the Maryland game isn't at Jeffrey Field, but I have found memories of soccer in Hershey (Olympic Qualifying). Penn State is in the process of revamping their soccer web site, but check it out: http://www.pennstatesoccer.com
Another good, old rivalry. I don't think that they have played each other for awhile now. Now if they would renew the football rivalry. That might be a little more competitive than this one. BTW, any idea why they are playing near Belle Vernon? Seems like they just randomly picked a neutral site between the two schools.
Great schedule This looks like a seriously up graded schedule from prior seasons. It's clear that Penn St soccer is on the rise.
I agree that it's a good schedule, though I don't know if it's necessarily a big upgrade. Penn State regularly plays a pretty tough schedule. In 1999 they played Clemson, South Carolina, Seton Hall, Akron, and Hartwick out of conference. In 2001 they played South Carolina, SW Missouri State, Creighton, Hartwick, and American out of conference. Last season they played Maryland, Virginia, Boston College, Lehigh, and Seton Hall out of conference. Add in the Big Ten and PSU plays a quality schedule year-in and year-out. They usually play in a competitive tourney or two and schedule some Big East competition. This year's trip out west is a big one, but otherwise teams like Boston College, Hartwick, Lehigh, Akron, and Maryland show up regularly on their schedule. I would assume the Binghamton and West Virginia games are exhibitions and won't count in the standings. Now if only PSU could get a real stadium for soccer...
psu schedule hax, good analysis of out of conference PSU games over the past 3 years. do u have any predictions re; CSF and UCLA? i am a west coaster and i saw Boston U, FIU, and Indiana go to CSF last year and they struggled a bit. i heard UCLA travels to Maryland next year, and i think they will get their butts kicked. Why schedule cross country top programs when you can gain a higher seed if u win or place in your conference and have a great overall record?
Reccoc- I honestly don't know much about Cal Fullerton, I have never seen them play. I obviously watched UCLA in the College Cup and think that they should beat Penn State again, though not as bad. PSU returns some exciting players (like leading scorer Chad Severs) and has some blue chip recruits coming in. They are very, very young and will miss some important seniors in the back. I think it'll take a while for the defense to get organized. They struggled early last year and then put the pieces together for a great late season run. Sophomores Brian Devlin and David Walters run the midfield, and Simon Omekanda (a freshman) might pair up with Severs up top.
Yes. Penn State lost senior defenders Brent Jacquette, Ben Dawson, and Jorma Makipaa. They also lost keeper Ryan Sickman, a big blow, and Brett Forbrich, who was pretty useless last year. They have a huge hole in central defense, I'd expect Gabe Bernstein to slide into the back four, and Kenji Treschuk and Anthony Calvano to play on the wings. The question is, who else plugs the hone in center defense? Nic Shahay and Calvano will be the only seniors this year, so 2003 and 2004 should be promising ones for PSU once all their youngsters gain some college experience. Reccoc- How's CSF looking for 2003? It sounds like PSU could conceivably drop those two games, especially while they work their two star freshmen into the fold. Obviously I worry about PSU's defensive graduates, UCLA might exploit that. I hope the new college sports network carries some of these games.
PSU schedule Hax, re: CSF, they play very well at home and usually well in the early part of the season. they have not been as strong as previous years as CS Northridge, UC santa barbara and LMU are winning recruits from CSF since upgrading their programs. however, they return a lot next year and will field a solid team and should give PSU a real test. a lot depends on if they play UCLA on friday and CSF on sunday. re; the tv thing. i heard that the Pac 10 was excluded from the new network because of Fox sports west contractual obligations. don't know if that includes out of conference games, but u can get cheap flights to orange county and watch them live. there will be plenty of available seats.
Not that big of a blow as Eric Earnhardt will be back on the team next year. When he was playing before he split time with Sickman.
Earnhardt will lessen the blow, but Sickman was simply amazing during the Nittany Lions' Big Ten and NCAA tournament run. He played better than any keeper I've seen at Penn State. I also need to correct the schedule, the Penn State vs. West Virginia exhibition game is at Elco High School, which outside of Harrisburg (not Elco, PA south of Pittsburgh). I also meant "fond memories" not "found memories." Oh well...
Equal Sickman and Earnhardt were vertually equal and Gorman simply played one while he was hot and switched when one cooled off. Certainly Sickman had a great run at the end of last season but he had some good defending in front of him also. There will be no drop off next season with Earnhardt between the pipes.
Penn State and the Terps Earnhardt more than fills the void for Sickman. Sickman got hot at the right time and carried PSU, but Earnhardt is as good a gk as their is. He has 2 years experience and will certainly be an upgrade at that position. Penn State have 8 starters coming back from last seasons team, minus Sickman, Jacquette and Makipaa. They have an unbelievable recruiting class coming in mainly because of Omekanda and Chambers. Those two are big time landings for Penn State because those type of players usually end up in the ACC. Omekanda from what I hear is the complete package and should make Severs a whole lot better. Chamber is a U18 National Teamer that does everything in midfield and scores. Throw in Severs, Bernstein, Walters, Devlin and the other guys and this team is in the hunt for the Final Four. A lot of people bashed them this year but they went to the Elite 8 and won the Big 10 with 8 sophomores and freshman. This team will not lose anyone, much like Maryland this year. Speaking of Maryland, without a doubt the #1 team in the country. Sumed and Abe bring so much to the table. Lancos is a bit overrated, but Stamler is all he is billed to be. Since I get to see them a lot, I can say without any hesitation that they are the team to beat. Sasha has recruited a tremendous group to UMD and for once, hasn't been bitten by Project 40 or injuries. Sampson couldn't even screw this group up. Anything less than an ACC title and a national championship will be disappointing for this group. They are focused and should run away with things. The teams I expect to really make pushes for a national title this year are Maryland, St. Louis, Stanford, UCLA, SMU, Penn State, Furman, Creighton, St. John's and Clemson. Teams that I think will be rebuilding this year are IU, Virginia, UCONN and Boston College. But that's my opinion.
Soccerrules- While I share in your excitement about Penn State, I think there are way too many question marks to declare them a Final Four team. First of all, who the heck is gonna replace Jorma Makipaa, Ben Dawson, and Brent Jacquette? The defense struggled at times last year even with those three seniors. Also, while I am very excited about the youth on this team, they are inexperienced and prone to inconsistency. I would think 2004 is their best shot at a College Cup, this year will see some more growing pains. The Nittany Lions have a ton of potential and some skillful attacking players, but the defense is too big of a question mark for them to be serious contenders. And unlike Maryland, Penn State is losing a lot of players. Soccerules and Terpfan- I am very happy that Earnhardt will provide experience in goal, but I don't really think he's ever played as well as Sickman did down the stretch. Whenever the backline broke down, Sickman made spectacular saves, including penalty kicks. I am not denying Earnhardt's quality, but Sickman was on another planet at the end of the year. Just ask Pat Noonan!
penn state Hax, though your points are well taken, your theory is flawed. The PSU team went to the Elite 8 with a bunch of inconsistent youngsters. Jacquette missed 2 NCAA playoff games, both shutouts against UNC (got hurt on a dirty play by Testo) and William and Mary. Plus, Dawson lost his starting spot to Calvano down the stretch. Your talking about replacing a defense that wans't that good last year and you think that they are suspect in the back. I have news for you, nothing has changed! Those guys are not irreplacable. But they did go to the Elite 8. They were one game away from the College Cup, won the Big 10 Championship and they bring back almost everyone. They have to be considered a favorite. Even though you picked them to lose to UNC they still went through...yes we all remember you jumped on the bandwagon down the stretch Hax. Earnhardt will more than definately fill in the pipes. UMD are tops and that will show come preseason polls. Cant wait for the UMD-UCLA, PSU-UCLA, and UMD-PSU games this year. Those will be telling.
Jumped on the bandwagon? What are you talking about? I am a Penn State fan, I live in State College, I go to all the games regardless of the weather or result. How am I a bandwagon fan? Did I think that the defending national champs, UNC, would beat Penn State? Yes. Do I think the Penn State back line was suspect? Yes. They surrendered 31 goals last year, sure the UCLA game inflated that number but they were inconsistent in the back, especially early on. How does this make me a bandwagon fan? I root for them regardless but am also realistic in my expectations. I am simply saying that there's a few too many question marks to declare Penn State a sure-fire College Cup contender. Brent Jacquette was arguably the heart and soul of the team, Ryan Sickman carried the team after many defensive lapses, Ben Dawson and Jorma Makipaa anchored the defense. How can you argue that these losses won't be felt? Those were senior leaders, PSU's captains, and I have a valid question wondering who will step up and take command of the team. I realize that Treschuk, Calvano, and probably Bernstein will play in the back, but who else? Penn State got hot late last year but remember that they lost a lot of games because of defensive breakdowns (8 losses total). They would not have even made the NCAA tourney if they didn't win the Big Ten. Penn State will be exciting, but I think you should be a tad realistic in your expectations. Until they show that they can win consistently away from Jeffrey Field, they won't be a contender for the College Cup. I agree about their potential but I simply think that the graduating seniors were more important than you give them credit for.
psu First off, your right, jumped the bandwagon was a bit too much. You are a solide PSU fan but being a good fan means you stick by your team. It's called supporting a club and if you were a true supporter, you should stick by your club no matter what. Also, PSU was #12 in the NCAA RPI. This was made public after the tournament. That means that PSU was very close to being one of the 8 seeded teams. Therefore, they weren't even close to missing the tournament. Even I thought they were on the bubble, but they weren't. Finally, you can't replace leadership and Jacquetter was certainly the MVP. But you can't replace experience either and Penn State is loaded with it. A young team went all the way to the Final 8. Who cares what they did at the beginning of the season Hax. WF was unbeaten and didn't go as far. Last year SMU was unbeaten and where did they end up....My point is, the great teams find a way to win down the stretch. "It's not how you start, it's how you finish." I am not nearly the PSU supporter that you are but I do follow the team. They will be strong next year and legit contenders to repeat as B10 champions and go to the final four. Take a look at the schedule, they won't be far off getting a seed with a couple of good results.
PSU vs PSU i would like to bet either of u that PSU lose to UCLA early in the season, and if u give me 2-1, they will lose both west coast games. if they can't manage at least 1 tie while @ CSF, they will be in trouble. this is one of the problems with college soccer; the "tournaments" are really opportunities for schools to bring in good teams and hope for the best.
Reccoc- I would not be surprised at all if Penn State lost both games at CSF. They struggled out of the gate last year before going on a late season tear. As I've debated with Soccerrules, I think they'll need some time to sort out their defense. Add in two freshmen who will probably start, and I think it might take a while for them to gel. I don't think their performance in California will have a big impact on their season. PSU plays a very tough schedule that will get them ready to make another run at the Big Ten title. PSU lost to teams like Richmond last year and still beat Virginia and Indiana. The Nittany Lions are fairly resourceful that way, they can lose a tough game and rebound quickly. Though if the Nittany Lions don't come out with a point to prove against UCLA and play really hard, I'd be disappointed. I think Penn State will be a top 15 team in 2003, but it might take some time for them to put the pieces together.
Elco is east of Harrisburg, closer to Reading then Harrisburg. They tend to play some games in this area but usually in the spring. I remember them playing at Fleetwood High School a few years ago. I would imagine that they are playing at Elco, because Gorman used to be the coach there. I remember playing them when I was in high school and he was the coach.
Someone might be able to answer this. Gorman's son is on the team right? Is he even that good? I saw him in high school and he didn't seem that talented.
Yup, Gorman's son Trevor is on the team. And no, he's not very good. He played in 11 games this year and scored 1 goal. Penn State doesn't have the depth of teams like UCLA and Maryland so there's a few guys like Trevor who get some minutes simply to spell the starters.