- Box Score
- Game Photos
| Aubrey Aden-Buie scored two goals in Penn State??s 3-2 win over Northwestern. |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; November 2, 2006 - -No. 12 Penn State (13-4-3, 8-1-1 Big Ten) opened its action at the Big Ten Tournament with a 3-2 victory over Northwestern in the quarterfinals. The No. 1 seed Lions will meet the winner of the last quarterfinal game being played at Jeffrey Field between No. 4 seed Michigan and No. 5 seed Indiana.
Penn State came out of the gates at a fast and furious pace, scoring its first two goals of the game in the opening 10 minutes. First-team All-Big Ten selection Aubrey Aden-Buie (Allentown, Pa.) started the Lions off with a goal at the 7:20 mark. The unassisted goal came at an unbelievably sharp angle just off the endline. Aden-Buie bent the strike around the right post and in, leaving the Wildcats stunned and the Lions up 1-0.
Fellow forward Ashley Myers (Bel Air, Md.) made the second deposit of the evening for the Lions less then two minutes later at 9:15. Myers took the pass in the box from the left side and converted for her fourth goal of the year to make the score 2-0, Penn State.
Next, Northwestern1s Jenny Dunn brought the Wildcats within a goal on a wild play in the box. Kelsey Hans took the initial shot that was blocked but rebounded to the foot of Dunn on the right side of the box. Dunn fired immediately, giving second team All-Big Ten selection Alyssa Naeher (Seymour, Conn.) no time to recover from the initial strike and bringing Northwestern within a goal 20:24 into play. The goal was Dunn1s fifth of the season.
A hard foul in the box resulted in a penalty kick for the Wildcats less then seven minutes later, which Shannon Schneeman scored to knot the game at 2-2.
Aden-Buie put the Lions up again with her 11th goal of the year on the rebound from a Zoe Bouchelle (Cockeysville, Md.) shot. The goal was part of an even half statistically, with eight shots each way. Northwestern racked-up more corner kicks on the half, 3-0.
Scoring cooled in the second half as did the temperatures. Neither team was able to find the goal again, but both applied pressure throughout the final 45 minutes. Finally tallies saw Northwestern with the slight edge in shots, 14-12, but with a deficit in the scoring column where the Lions needed it most. Wildcat goalkeeper Lauren Johnston had four saves, while Naeher tallied two.
The Nittany Lions continues to host the Big Ten Tournament at Jeffrey Field on Friday, Nov. 3, and Sunday, Nov. 5. In the Big Ten semifinals, No. 2 seed Illinois and No. 3 seed Purdue meet at 4:30 p.m. on Friday with No. 1 seed Penn State matching up with No. 4 seed Michigan.
Single day passes will be sold at the gate during each of the remaining three games. Adult tickets are $6.00 each, with youth, senior citizen and student tickets $4.00 each and a group rate set at $3.00. Groups are defined as 10 or more persons. There are no age requirements for members of the groups.