As ESPN women's soccer analyst Cat Whitehill commented on the up-and-down start to the Penn State women's soccer team's season, the players groaned.
They had heard it enough, they just wanted to focus on the good news -- Jeffrey Field will host postseason soccer.
"I didn't really know what to expect. I'm happy that we're seeded and I'm happy that we're home this weekend," senior forward Katie Schoepfer said. "It looks like we're in the hardest bracket so I think we just need to focus on taking it one game at a time."
The 4th-seeded Nittany Lions will begin the NCAA Tournament at 7:30 p.m. Friday night against Patriot League champion Colgate. St. John's and Virginia will play at 5 p.m. Friday at Jeffrey Field, and the winner of that match will take on the winner of the Lions' match on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Stanford took the number one overall seed in the tournament. Florida State, North Carolina and UCLA make up the remaining of the four number one seeds. Penn State is in the upper half of UCLA's bracket, meaning the Lions would meet the Bruins in California in the third round should both teams advance that far.
When the Lions initial seeding first came up on the screen the players clapped, then erupted into a loud cheer when show host Michael Kim said "in State College, Pennsylvania." For sophomore midfielder and Las Vegas native Ali Schaefer, the chance to travel west is something to look forward to.
"If we come out with the wins this weekend, we get to go to California, maybe," Schaefer said. "It's close to home, so I'd get to see my family. The other West Coast girls and I are really
excited as well. It's a great opportunity."
The other seeded teams in the Lion's bracket are second seed Portland and third seed Virginia Tech. Whitehill said the bracket was the hardest in the entire tournament, predicting Portland to emerge as the winner, but saying Penn State could "give UCLA a run for their money."
While the Lions defeated potential second-round foe Virginia in their season opener, Schoepfer said both teams had changed considerably from that August match-up. Penn State coach Erica Walsh said she is excited to get the chance to play different teams, adding to the excitement of the tournament.
"That's what the NCAA Tournament is about, I think this bracket feels more like an NCAA bracket rather than a regional competition," Walsh said. "It's a different experience. We haven't been out there [the West Coast] this year."
Aside from Penn State, the Big Ten will send Wisconsin, Michigan State, Purdue and Ohio State to the tournament. For the team's seven seniors, the tournament will mark their final postseason run and gives them at least one more chance to play in front of a home crowd.
"I'm just not ready for my career to end yet," Schoepfer said. "I don't want for these other seniors' career to end either. I think it'd be nice to go out of Jeffrey with a win on that field. Hopefully we can make a good run and just be proud of what we've done here this season."
