Sept. 28, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - After a physical and mentally taxing game Sunday afternoon, No. 4 Portland took a 4-1 decision over the No. 22 Nittany Lions. Penn State now falls to 6-5 on the season while Portland advances to 9-1.
Both teams came out of the gate quickly determined to strike first. Rainfall through the night and most of the game contributed to poor field conditions that each squad adjusted to with relative ease. As their comfort levels increased, so did the pressure.
Portland got on the board first and quickly. When challenged by the Penn State defense, Megan Rapinoe crossed to Charney Burke who immediately forwarded the ball to Sophie Schmidt. Schmidt then sent the ball past Alyssa Naeher (Seymour, Conn.) into the lower left corner of the net in the second minute of play.
But the Nittany Lions bounced back as Carly Niness (Berwyn, Pa.) found herself in the middle of the 18 yard box. A short cross to the left found Danielle Toney (Northville, Mich.) who connected for her fifth goal of the year as the ball sailed past a diving Kelsey Davis into the lower right corner of the net.
The Pilots struck again in the 18th minute off a perfectly executed corner kick to make the score 2-1. Rapinoe placed the ball close to the net as Michelle Olivier sent a short shot into the left corner.
M.A.C. Hermann Trophy watch-list member Katie Schoepfer (Waterford, Conn.) had two huge opportunities late in the first half. After receiving the ball from Zoe Bouchelle (Cockeysville, Md.), Schoepfer was on the break-away passing the defense and finding herself one-on-one with Davis. As she launched her shot, Davis was forced to sprawl out to prevent the goal. Shortly after, Schoepfer got another shot by herself which ended up deflecting off the right pole.
Penn State came back out in the second half determined to make a statement. With the Nittany Lions in control, Toney crossed the ball to Bouchelle who made a beautiful shot into the Pilot net, but the goal was called back as the line judge saw Bouchelle offsides. The Nittany Lions looked to score on a few corner kick opportunities, but the tall back line of Portland cleared the threats up the field to their attackers.
The Pilots made it 3-1 as Michelle Enyeart crossed a deep ball to Sara Jackman who took a short direct shot to the right corner of the goal.
Frustration was apparent from both squads as the physicality of the game continued to grow. As Portland took a free kick just outside the goal box Neaher sprawled out to make a huge save and keep the momentum with the Nittany Lions. On the other side of the field, Schoepfer got a free kick of her own that made its way to the deep right corner of the net, but another offsides call took the goal back for the second time.
As Portland moved the ball downfield, Enyeart crossed to Danielle Foxhoven who placed the ball in the back of the net just before the 79th minute taking and keeping the momentum as the clock ran down.
The Nittany Lions will return to Jeffrey Field next week as their Big Ten conference schedule gets into full swing with a match against Northwestern, Friday at 7 p.m., followed by a televised game against Wisconsin on Sunday at noon. After a win against Indiana Friday night, the Nittany Lions are 1-0 in conference play and are looking toward their eleventh consecutive Big Ten championship.