Silence filled the TV room at Damon's Grill when the Women's College Cup brackets were released Monday night.
The No. 23 Penn State women's soccer team, which watched the selection show on ESPNews from Damon's, was unseeded and placed in the Stanford Region in the NCAA tournament. The top four teams in each region receive a seed.
The Nittany Lions (16-7) will face first-round host Rutgers (12-6-1) in the first round Friday. The winner will play the winner of the Fairfield and No. 4-seed Oklahoma State game on Sunday.
This year will mark the first time since 2003 that Penn State will not host at least the first rounds of the NCAA tournament. The Lions had been either a No. 1 or a No. 2-seed in each of the last four years.
"Obviously we're disappointed for not hosting," coach Erica Walsh said. "But like I told the team, we've got to go through all of them to get to the College Cup."
Although Penn State didn't have as good of a record as it had in previous years, the team believed its strength of schedule would catch the selection committee's attention.
The Lions' ranked 12th in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), a computer formula that takes strength of schedule into consideration and often serves as a guide in determining brackets.
Penn State hosted three teams this year currently ranked in the top-5, including No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 2 Portland. It also is fresh off winning the Big Ten tournament after its 2-1 win over Minnesota on Sunday.
"I was a little surprised there," senior defender Jessie Davis said. "But you know what? It's good to be underdogs.
"We'll just have to play with the cards we're dealt."
Penn State played Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J. on Sept. 5, when Nikki Watts scored in double overtime to give the Lions a 1-0 win.
"We have to prepare for a very good Rutgers team," Walsh said. "They had a lot of injured players last time around, and I'm sure they're looking for revenge."
Undefeated Notre Dame, North Carolina, Stanford and UCLA received the four No. 1 seeds.
Big Ten rivals Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan State were also selected to the field of 64.
The College Cup will be held Dec. 5-7 in Cary, N.C.
