Oct. 19, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's soccer team battled Iowa through two scoreless halves, but finally found the back of the net 30 seconds into the first overtime period to take a crucial Big Ten win, 1-0. All-American Katie Schoepfer (Waterford, Conn.) netted the game-winner for her ninth goal of the season. Penn State is now 11-6 overall and 6-1 in the Big Ten while Iowa falls to 8-8-1 overall and 2-4-1 in conference play.
The Nittany Lions controlled the ball for the majority of the game scattering 23 shots to the Hawkeyes' five. First Team All-American Alyssa Naeher was called upon to make three huge saves while Emily Moran and Stephanie Swanson combined for 11 saves of the Iowa net.
Despite the Lions steady control throughout regulation, the Hawkeyes had fierce coverage throughout the back line often having three players on Schoepfer and Danielle Toney (Northville, Mich.). Both strikers had to fight for every shot and collided with the Hawkeye keeper on more than one occasion.
Iowa put up a major scoring threat early in the second half. Forward Kelsey Sandon sent a high header towards the Penn State goal, and Naeher had to scramble to make the save.
The Lions recovered and set up an offense that put up eight big shots in the second half. Frustration was apparent as shots sailed over the net and Swanson kept the Hawkeyes alive as the clock would down.
The pieces finally came together early in overtime as Meghan Gill (State College, Pa.) found Schoepfer in front of the goal. Schoepfer spun around the defense that had been surrounding her all afternoon and sent a left-footed shot into the right corner of the net.
"We started to feel momentum toward the latter half of the game," said head coach Erica Walsh. "I think the team did a good job hanging in there and picking up their play towards the end."
The Nittany Lions will hit the road one last time in their quest for an 11th consecutive conference championship as they take on Purdue and No. 25 Illinois next week. Penn State will face the Fighting Illini on Friday at 8 p.m. before matching up with the Boilermakers on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.