Disregard the writing on the wall -- literally.
In the locker room of the No. 8 Penn State women's soccer team, a dry-erase board, hanging less than a few feet away from the 2006 Big Ten regular season and tournament trophies, uses just six words to perfectly describe what lies between the Nittany Lions and history.
Written in the blue ink, the message plainly reads: "Six games to a national championship."
No matter how simple it may seem, the statement puts a season's worth of work and dedication into perspective for Penn State. Ask any of the players or coaches, however, and they will say that their national championship game is at 5 p.m. today.
That's when the No. 2-seed Lions will face Niagara University on Jeffrey Field in the opening round of the NCAA National Tournament.
"It is always one game at a time, and if we just focus on one game, we'll be able to go as far as we can," freshman forward Katie Schoepfer said.
So put thoughts about a highly coveted return to the College Cup, a possible showdown with No. 1 Notre Dame in the Elite Eight or potential second-round opponents on the backburner, because Penn State's focus is centered entirely on the little-known school from upstate New York.
Tonight's meeting will be the first between the two teams that are on the opposite ends of the college soccer spectrum.
The Lions (15-4-3, 8-1-1 Big Ten), unbeaten in their last three games, will be making an appearance in the national tournament for the 12th straight year. Meanwhile, the Purple Eagles (12-6-1) will be celebrating their first trip to the "Big Dance" in program history.
"We are very excited about going to the NCAA Tournament for the first time," Niagara head coach Peter Veltri said in a press release. "We realize we are underdogs in this game, but we are going to give it everything we have."
While almost any team taking on Penn State at Jeffrey Field would be an underdog, Niagara is certainly no pushover.
Riding a current five-game winning streak, the Eagles earned their at-large bid by winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title. They also boast a three-pronged attack of midfielders that would make any defense take notice, even the Lions'.
Junior Brittany Bisnott, sophomore Stephanie Gartley and senior Emily Montgomery rank 1-2-3 in goals scored, respectively, and have accounted for over 70 percent of Niagara's offense this season.
The trio will have the attention of Penn State head coach Paula Wilkins, who is confident that her team will be ready despite having several youngsters that have never been in this position before.
"Our older players have been through these situations, and they are able to tell the younger players how important this is and not to look past anything," she said. "That's why we were successful last year and we're going to continue to be."
Whoever wins tonight's game will advance and face the winner of Toledo-Villanova, which will be played at 7:30 this evening. The second-round matchup will be held at 1 Sunday afternoon on Jeffrey Field.
