Oct. 4, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.--The Penn State women's soccer team took down No. 15 Ohio State, 2-1, on Sunday at Jeffrey Field. Christine Nairn (Bowie, Md.) and Katie Schoepfer (Waterford, Conn.) tallied markers, while Alyssa Naeher (Seymour, Conn.) made five saves.
In a hotly contested game that saw 25 fouls and four cards given out, Penn State (5-5-1, 1-1-0 Big Ten) persevered for the upset-victory in the Nittany Lions' Big Ten home opener.
PSU controlled much of the match and capitalized on a chance from 25 yards out when Nairn sent an arching shot into the lower left corner of the net for her fourth goal of the year off a Schoepfer assist in the 38th minute. The tally broke two impressive Ohio State (8-2-1, 1-1-0 Big Ten) shutout streaks: a 179-minute streak at Jeffrey Field and 307-minute overall streak in the past five games.
As the Nittany Lions went into halftime with a 1-0 lead, they led in every important offensive category: shots (8-4), shots on goal (4-1), and both teams were knotted up at one on corner kicks.
The second half proved to be quite eventful, as Penn State had two players, Maddy Evans (Glenside, Pa.) and Lexi Marton (Aurora, Ontario) cautioned and the foul disparity favoring Ohio State. It wasn't until the 68th minute did tempers truly head past the tipping point.
On a seemingly innocuous play on the nearside touchline, Tara Davies (Cape May Court House, N.J.) got tangled up with Ohio State's Kendyl Reed, but the officials let the game play on. Once the ball went out of bounds, however, Davies shoved Reed with her forearm, earning the senior defender's first red card of her career and putting Penn State down a player the rest of the way.
The Nittany Lions scrambled to keep their composure with a one-goal lead and an Ohio State team destined for an equalizer, but Penn State used a counter attack to put away any hopes of a Buckeye comeback.
Evans sent a through ball from midfield to a streaking Schoepfer who took the ball into the penalty area and was brought down by Cassie Dickerson, earning the Nittany Lions a penalty kick in the 75th minute. Schoepfer blasted the ensuing spot kick to the lower left side to give PSU a precious two-goal advantage.
OSU continued to apply pressure, even earning a dubious penalty kick call when Buckeye forward Tiffany Cameron went down easily on a Marton tackle in the 81st minute. Courtney Jenkins went on to send the ball sailing high over the net of Naeher.
The Buckeyes didn't give up, finally capitalizing on a rebound when Lauren Granberg put away a Lauren Steuer saved shot in the 85th minute. Ohio State couldn't find the equalizer and Penn State held on for a well-earned 2-1 victory.
For the game, the Ohio State out-shot Penn State, 16-13, including 12-5 in the second half. The Nittany Lions made six saves to OSU's three, while the Buckeyes had a 4-3 advantage on corner kicks. In all, Penn State committed 16 fouls to OSU's nine.
The Nittany Lion soccer team will return to Jeffrey Field for the second game of a three-match home set, as it takes on Northwestern Friday night at 7:00 p.m. The home stand wraps up on Sunday, Oct. 11 against Iowa at 11:00 a.m. All live coverage can be found at GoPSUsports.com
For complete coverage of all the Nittany Lion soccer this season, go to www.GoPSUsports.com/sports/w-soccer.
Follow Penn State women's soccer on Twitter: www.twitter.com/PSUWomensSoccer.
--NITTANY LIONS--