Oct. 26, 2007
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - In a tight defensive battle, an Aubrey Aden-Buie (Allentown, Pa.) goal at the 80:00 mark proved to be all the No. 13 Penn State women's soccer team needed for a 1-0 thrilling upset of fourth-ranked Purdue at Jeffrey Field on Friday.
With the win, Penn State improved to 13-3-1 overall and 7-1-0 in Big Ten play, propelling the Nittany Lions to first place in the conference with two games left to play. The victory marked the Nittany Lions' third triumph over a ranked team this season. It also extended the Big Ten home streak to 52 consecutive games without a loss.
"What we said to the team before the game was that everybody's got a role to play tonight and if everybody plays their role we'll have success and that was absolutely the case," said Penn State head coach Erica Walsh. "Tara Davies marked one of the best players in the conference out of the game, Alyssa kept the ball out of the net and Aubrey scored, so it was a good night."
After a scoreless and relatively even first half, both teams had quality chances in the second stanza. Purdue brought a gasp from the Penn State crowd with a dangerous sequence in the 65th minute. Loredana Riverso started the flurry with a shot from the right side that sophomore goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher (Seymour, Conn.) came forward on and then was able to catch with her fingers tips to ricochet the ball off the post and back into play. A follow-up shot by Jordyn Shaffer was blocked, but the Boilermakers weren't done. Parrissa Eyorokon tried the header, but it drifted above the goal and out of bounds.
"What we said to the team before the game was that everybody's got a role to play tonight and if everybody plays their role we'll have success and that was absolutely the case."-Penn State Head Coach Erica Walsh |
"This is a huge win," said Naeher after the game. "Purdue was the front-runner in the Big Ten and ranked fourth in the country. Especially coming after a tough loss at Minnesota. It puts us in a good position now."
With a little over 12 minutes left, PSU freshman Bianca D'Agostino (Longmeadow, Mass.) chipped one over the Purdue defense from the right side to give the Penn State fans a pick-me-up, but another good save by Purdue's goalkeeper kept the game scoreless.
A foul deep in Purdue's zone proved dangerous to the No. 4 Boilermakers. Sophomore transfer Melissa Hayes (Cave Creek, Ariz.) and senior midfielder Carly Bedesem (Holland, Pa.) worked the give-and-go before Hayes blasted it into the box. Hayes' strike found Aden-Buie's head for the go-ahead goal to make it 1-0 Penn State.
Purdue out-shot Penn State by a 19-10 margin, including a 7-4 edge on goal. Naeher, who notched her ninth shutout of the season, finished the night with seven saves. Boilermaker keeper Jenny Bradfisch tallied three saves. Purdue attempted five corners to Penn State's three.
No. 13 Penn State hosts Indiana on Sunday in the final home game of the 2007 season. The senior day contest will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.
--NITTANY LIONS--