Sept. 5, 2008
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - With a little over one minute remaining in the final overtime period, the No. 10 Penn State women's soccer team scored to grab the thrilling win at Rutgers Friday night. Newcomer Nikki Watts (Hungerford, England) did it again, converting her team-leading third goal of the year at the 108:54 mark, this time off an assist from Dani Toney (Northville, Mich.). Toney has now scored at least one point in each of the Nittany Lions' games this year.
"We went into a hostile environment at Rutgers with a good crowd and we didn't come out with the energy we needed in the first half," said Penn State head coach Erica Walsh. "In the second half we battled and created more chances. Rutgers battled the entire game, but we caught a break first in the overtime to get the win.
"We have a lot of talent, but we need to do more work. We especially need to do more work on the defense."
For the game, Rutgers out-shot the Nittany Lions 22-12, but All-American goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher (Seymour, Conn.) was there for the Nittany Lions when it counted, racking up four saves and recording her first shutout of the year.
"Jessie Davis in overtime had a lot of work to do in the back," said Walsh, "She was just a warrior for us. She just could not bear losing that game. She showed great leadership by example."
Freshman Bri Garcia (Babylon, N.Y.) played in the overtime period to augment a defense that had felt the Scarlet Knights' pressure all night. After coming back from illness, Walsh hopes to get Garcia more work over time as she becomes more fit.
All-American junior Katie Schoepfer (Waterford, Conn.) and Toney led the Nittany Lions in shots with four and three, respectively. Watts and sophomore Megan Monroig (Northumberland, Pa.) each took two shots. Toney had two big chances before Watts' game-winning goal and even though Rutgers had some quality chances as well off the counter-attack, it was Penn State that got the break first to capture the 1-0 double overtime victory.
Penn State hosts Bucknell Sunday at 6 p.m. The game versus the Bison is the last of a triple-header at Jeffrey Field that day. Sunday's games start early as the Nittany Lion men's soccer team opens its 2008 home schedule this weekend by welcoming Ohio State, Bucknell, and Tulsa to Jeffrey Field for the annual Penn State Classic. Sunday's tournament games will pit Ohio State men's soccer versus Tulsa (noon) and the Penn State men's soccer team against Bucknell (3:30 p.m.) followed by the women's game at 6 p.m. Admission to all home men's and women's soccer games is free.
--NITTANY LIONS--