The Penn Stater Magazine

XC Marks the Spot for a Great PSU Sports Weekend

November 2, 2009 at 10:35 am Ryan Jones Leave a comment

I knew the email would be waiting for me this morning, and so it was: A question from my Alumni Association colleague (and former Nittany Lion distance runner) Jayson Jackson ’99, wondering why I hadn’t already blogged about the women’s cross country team claiming its first Big Ten Conference title.

Here you go, Jay.

Led by senior Bridget Franek, who torched the 6,000-meter Blue/White course Sunday with a winning time of 20:03, the host Nittany Lion women edged runner-up Illinois to capture the conference crown. It was a great showing on a weekend full of them by Penn State student-athletes. Running through the highlights:

-The men’s soccer team moved into sole possession of first place in the Big Ten standings with a 2-1 win Saturday over Wisconsin. It’s been a rough couple of years for Coach Barry Gorman’s squad, but now that they’ve finally had some luck avoiding injuries, they’re reminding the rest of the league what they’re capable of.

-The women’s soccer team seems fully recovered from its slow start to the season; they’re unbeaten in eight games after Sunday’s 4-0 thrashing of visiting Purdue. I was there, and was lucky enough to see one of the nicest goals I’ve ever seen in person, at any level of soccer.

With Penn State up 2-0 early in the second half, senior left back Tara Davies made a great overlapping run, tearing nearly the entire length of the field from the left, then lofting a shot from virtually no angle into the far corner of the Purdue net. Everyone at Jeffrey Field, including the players (not least the unlucky Purdue goalkeeper) looked momentarily shocked before the crowd erupted in cheers. Davies celebrated the goal — the first of her college career, coming in her final regular-season home game — with a flipping summersault before being mobbed by her teammates.

Junior Danielle Toney, a player more accustomed to scoring, tallied her 11th and 12th goals of the season to claim the Big Ten scoring lead.

-As Lori and Jessie already documented, the top-ranked women’s volleyball team extended its own NCAA record Friday with its 88th straight victory, a 3-0 sweep of Minnesota.

-And after a slow start, the football team looked pretty good Saturday at Northwestern. Ohio State is next. The tents at Paternoville should be popping up shortly…

Ryan Jones, senior editor

Entry filed under: Other Penn State sports, Penn State football. Tags: Barry Gorman, Bridget Franek, Cross-Country, Jayson Jackson, Men's soccer, Tara Davies, Women's Soccer, women's volleyball.