Oct. 15, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State women's soccer received two second-half goals to complete a stirring comeback, upsetting No. 15 Minnesota, 2-1, on Friday night at blustery Jeffrey Field. Maddy Evans (Glenside, Pa.) netted her first career game-winning goal in the 76th minute to propel the Nittany Lions to their fourth win in the past five games.
With Penn State (6-7-1, 4-1-0 Big Ten) trailing the 15th-ranked team in the country, the Nittany Lions dug deep in the second half. For the second straight Friday, PSU was behind 1-0, but was applying all sorts of pressure on the Golden Gopher (10-3-2, 2-2-1) net. PSU was finally able to crack the code in the 73rd minute when Danielle Toney (Northville, Mich.) launched a cross from the far left wing to an on-rushing Taylor Schram (Canonsburg, Pa.). The speedy midfielder beat her defender, diving for the ball from 12 yards out as `keeper Cat Parkhill got a hand to the ball and it gingerly rolled into the far left netting to knot the game up.
The momentum was fully on Penn State's side and the attack continued. The Nittany Lions earned a corner kick and Christine Nairn's (Arnold, Md.) lofting service found the head of Evans on the back post as she sent it home through a maze of maroon jerseys. The ball just barely crossed the line as a Minnesota defender missed clearing it away and the Nittany Lions would hold on to earn their fourth straight win in the series.
Penn State worked its way through the strong wind in the first half putting three shot on goal in the first 38 minutes. Toney caused the Minnesota defense all sorts of headaches with her speed and Penn State's midfield ability to play through balls past UM's three-player defense. Chances by Maya Hayes (West Orange, N.J.) and Ali Schaefer (Las Vegas, Nev.) were stopped by UM's Parkhill who tied a career high in saves with seven.
Despite the fact Penn State controlled the majority of the play in the stanza, Minnesota connected on its lone goal when Julie Rezec played a ball from the right wing to Molly Rouse in the middle of the field, eventually chipping a short cross to the left wing where Steph Brandt headed home the goal in the 43rd minute.
Penn State's stout made the Big Ten's most prolific scoring attack look pedestrian as Minnesota fired just one shot in each half. In the end, PSU held a 13-2 advantage in shots including a 9-1 edge in shots on goal. PSU also posted the advantage in corner kicks (6-4), while the Gophers were the aggressor on the field in fouls (10-8).
PSU moved to 17-3-0 all-time in the series with Minnesota and have won 15 of the last 16 matches with the Gophers including six straight at Jeffrey Field. The Nittany Lions moved to 78-2-3 all-time at Jeffrey Field against Big Ten competition with a 156-19-6 overall record at the venue.
The Nittany Lions return to action on Sunday for another tough match as Wisconsin visits Happy Valley. The game is set for a Noon kick-off as the match will be televised on Big Ten Network, tape delay at 4:30 p.m. Penn State will celebrate Faculty Appreciation Day at Jeffrey Field against the Badgers.
!!!PARKING ADVISORY!!!
Fans attending Sunday's game will be advised to enter the parking lots via the Beaver Stadium West Lot entrance off Park Avenue. The THON 5K will be taking place on Sunday and Curtin Road between Porter and University Drive will be closed to all traffic on all three roads from 11-12. Please plan accordingly.
BOX SCORE
| Team | 1st | 2nd | OT1 | OT2 | Total | Record |
| #15 Minnesota | 1 | 0 | - | - | 1 | (10-3-2, 2-2-1 Big Ten) |
| Penn State | 0 | 2 | - | - | 2 | (6-7-1, 4-1-0 Big Ten) |
Scoring Summary
MINN (42:09) - Steph Brandt (4, Molly Rouse, Julie Rezac)
PSU (72:27) - Taylor Schram (2, Danielle Toney)
PSU (75:19) - Maddy Evans (1, Christine Nairn)
Stat Summary
Shots: PSU 13, MINN 2
Shots on Goal: PSU 9, MINN 2
Corners: PSU 6, MINN 4
Saves: PSU 1, MINN 7
Fouls: PSU 8, MINN 10
Offsides: PSU 2, MINN 0
Booking Summary
Yellow: MINN - Molly Rouse (89:20) Yellow: PSU - Bri Garcia (89:20)
Attendance: 874
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--NITTANY LIONS--