Nov. 9, 2007
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - After completely dominating play, the Nittany Lion women¹s soccer team fell victim to the sometimes cruel nature of soccer by tying Ohio State, 2-2, and then failing to advance to the Big Ten tournament finals after a 5-4 deficit in penalty kicks. PSU had overcome a 1-0 deficit late in the game and had taken the lead 2-1 with 10:37 remaining before the Buckeyes tied it up in the waning minutes of regulation to force overtime. Sixth-ranked Penn State (16-3-2) now awaits NCAA selection on Monday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPNews.
³I¹m extremely proud of the way we played coming back from behind with 15 minutes left,² said Penn State head coach Erica Walsh after the game. ³I like the way our team is players right now and I like our chances in NCAAs. This is the best we¹ve played all season.²
All told, the Nittany Lions out-shot the Buckeyes, 32-10, and put 12 shots on frame in 110 minutes of play.
Despite a statistical imbalance in Penn State¹s favor that started early in the first half, Ohio State had the 1-0 advantage at the break. A set piece was the difference when an Ohio State corner kick was parlayed into a Buckeye goal when Alex Burzynski made the deposit. Keiana Mitchell and Lauren Beachy were both credited with assists on the play.
Game action continued to favor the Nittany Lions statistically, but the scoreboard didn¹t reflect the domination until the 76:57 mark when Penn State finally tied it up, 1-1. Sophomore Katie Schoepfer (Waterford, Conn.) had worked hard all day long and her commitment had finally paid off when she found freshman Danielle Toney (Northville, Mich.) for the score.
The Nittany Lions took their first lead of the day with 10:37 remaining when Schoepfer struck again. Off a deflection Schoepfer was able to fit the strike past OSU keeper Lauren Robertson for the 2-1 lead.
Ohio State wouldn¹t quit, however, and after some dangerous time spent in Penn State territory, senior Lauren Dickenmann hurt the NIttany Lions for the game-tying conversion at the 85:13 mark off an assist from Lisa Collison. The Buckeye goal that sent the game into overtime was their second of the night and marked the first time since the season-opener against Tennessee that the Nittany Lions had given up more then one goal in a game.
Penn State continued to get more good chances in the overtime period, firing six additional tries, but the out-right win was not to be for the Nittany Lions and the game went into penalty kicks. Robertson saved one of the Nittany Lions¹ early tries, and the Buckeyes were perfect on their attempts to get the 5-4 edge and advance to the Big Ten Tournament finals on Sunday.
The Penn State vs. Ohio State semifinal from Friday will be aired on a taped-delay basis on the Big Ten Network early Saturday morning at 1 a.m. ET and then again on Sunday, Nov. 11, at 8 a.m. ET.
--NITTANY LIONS--