Nov. 7, 2008
IOWA CITY, Iowa - The Penn State women's soccer team redeemed itself in Friday's semifinal game against Michigan State. In the regular season, the Spartans won 3-1, but the Nittany Lions battled through fierce winds and a wintery mix to win 1-0 and advance to the Big Ten Championship game. Scoring her ninth goal for Penn State was Danielle Toney (Northville, Mich.).
Penn State got on the board quickly in the seventh minute when Zoe Bouchelle (Cockeysville, Md.) sailed the ball forward to a streaking Toney. She then pulled Spartan keeper Jill Flietstra out and fired the ball past her into the lower left corner.
Michigan State wasn't without its share of offensive plays though as Alyssa Naeher (Seymour, Conn.) came away with two huge saves. Control was back and forth for the remainder of the half as scoring opportunities were met with big defensive plays from both teams.
Similar to the quarterfinals, Penn State came out in the second stanza going against the wind. Toney tried to get an assist of her own as she sent the ball to Schoepfer who blasted a point blank shot while Flietstra made a huge save. The Nittany Lions continued to put pressure on the Spartan net as they worked around the defense from the outside and the middle.
As the Spartans moved the ball back up the field, Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Laura Heyboer found an open shot. Once again, Naeher got her hands up quickly, and the Penn State defense cleared it out. The Spartans were able to pressure the Penn State defense as the clock began to wind down and get a few more shots before the Lions took the victory.
Throughout the match Penn State fired 19 shots, eight of which were on goal as Michigan State pulled a seven-to-three ratio. The Nittany Lions had a slight 5-4 advantage in corner kicks. Naeher picked up three saves for the Nittany Lions while Flietstra came away with seven.
The Nittany Lions will return to the Iowa Soccer Complex Sunday for the championship game against No. 21 and second-seeded Minnesota. The Golden Gophers share the regular season crown with Penn State, and the game is expected to be hotly contested. The Big Ten Network will be broadcasting live at 3 p.m. ET, and live stats will be available at www.GoPSUsports.com.