Oct. 17, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State women's soccer put together a valiant comeback, but a rapid-fire goal by Wisconsin sent the Badgers to a 3-2 win at Jeffrey Field on Sunday afternoon. Tani Costa (Honolulu, Hawaii) and Maya Hayes (West Orange, N.J.) provided goals for the Nittany Lions.
In a tension-filled second half, where Penn State trailed Wisconsin, 2-1, PSU took it to the Badger defense, putting five of the first six shots on the score sheet, forcing Dalton into three saves. In the 60th minute, PSU was most dangerous when Nairn launched a 25-yard effort that barely missed the frame and had Dalton (eight saves) frozen on her line. Two minutes later, Hayes sprung free from the defense and had a breakaway 16 yards from net, but her shot was directly at Dalton and the game remained in Wisconsin's favor.
Penn State (6-8-1, 4-2-0 Big Ten) finally got its much-needed equalizer when Hayes opened up a gap on the right wing off a pass from Danielle Toney (Northville, Mich.). Hayes fired a shot from 15 yards out to the lower left netting and knotted the game up at two in the 78th minute.
Wisconsin (7-4-4, 4-1-2 Big Ten) fired right back as a long ball was played wide right to Kodee Williams, whose run up to the goal saw her get past the PSU defense and slot home the game-winner on the near post just 44 seconds after the game-tying effort.
From there, Wisconsin packed its penalty area and fended off numerous Penn State attacks, holding on for the first Badger win at Jeffrey Field in women's soccer history. The Nittany Lions fell to 77-3-3 all-time at Jeffrey Field to Big Ten competition with the loss.
Despite Penn State controlling much of the opening minutes of the game, forcing four corner kicks in the first 15 minutes, Wisconsin was the first to strike. The Badgers received a free kick from 30 yards out on the left wing and Catie Sessions served the ball into the penalty area. The dipping kick was misdirected by Christine Nairn (Arnold, Md.) and went into an open net in the 18th minute.
Wisconsin used the lead to its advantage and continued the pace of play from there. Eventually, another free kick, this time from the right flank, was taken by Sessions. Her service was deflected by a header and Laurie Nosbusch cleaned up on the far post, knocking home the goal in the 33rd minute for a two-goal lead.
Penn State fought back in the 38th minute when Megan Monroig (Northumberland, Pa.) made a streaking run down the left wing and sent a ball to the middle of the penalty area. UW `keeper Michele Dalton attempted to punch the ball away, but it fell to Costa, who sent a half-volley into the right corner of the net to cut the lead in half.
The Nittany Lions held a 19-11 shot margin including a 10-4 advantage in shots on goal. Moreover, the PSU dominated play in the second half, overwhelming Wisconsin by a 14-3 advantage in shots. Penn State also had seven corner kicks to four Badger corners. It was the first time anyone scored more than one goal on Wisconsin since Portland won 2-0 on Sept. 3. Prior to this weekend, the Badgers were riding a nine-game scoreless streak that stretched back to the Sept. 5 game to Washington.
Penn State returns to play next Sunday when the Lions travel to Illinois for a 2:00 p.m. ET matchup. Live stats coverage can be found through GameTracker and PSU will have Twitter (@PSUWomensSoccer) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/PSUWomensSoccer) updates.
For complete coverage of Penn State women's soccer, please visit http://www.GoPSUsports.com/sports/w-soccer.
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--NITTANY LIONS--