Oct. 24, 2010
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Penn State women's soccer team handled No. 13 Illinois, 2-0, at warm and windy Illinois Track & Soccer Complex on Sunday. Danielle Toney (Northville, Mich.) notched her fifth tally of the year before a Hayley Brock (Acton, Mass.) goal completed the scoring.
"I would say it is our biggest win of the year," head coach Erica Walsh said. "It was a very professional performance, the team was all business. We were fortunate to have the wind at our back and jumped on them. Now that the wind has played a role for the last three games, we've learned to manage it and play it to our advantage."
In the most dominant half yet of the 2010 season, Penn State (7-8-1, 5-2-0 Big Ten) overcame a sluggish opening five minutes before connecting on 20 consecutive shots at Illinois' (11-3-1, 4-2-1 Big Ten) net. The pressure began in the eighth minute when Jess Rosenbluth (Gladwyne, Pa.) had her chance stopped by Alexandra Kapicka (eight saves).
Back-to-back shots by Tani Costa (Honolulu, Hawaii) and Toney missed the target in the 13th minute, but Penn State's accuracy soon improved as Christine Nairn (Arnold, Md.) had her shot saved and Toney hit the crossbar in the 18th minute. The flurry of shots continued as Toney scored her fifth of the year when a Rosenbluth through ball found its mark and Toney slotted the ball into the lower right corner of the net in the 20th minute for a 1-0 lead. Carly Niness (Berwyn, Pa.) played a ball out of the back to Costa, who knocked down a header to Rosenbluth who chipped it on to Toney.
The Penn State onslaught continued with another Rosenbluth shot in the 21st minute that was knocked away out of bounds for a corner kick. Rosenbluth's corner kick found Megan Monroig (Northumberland, Pa.) whose shot hit the crossbar, preventing a two-goal Penn State lead. Another corner kick by Rosenbluth saw Emma Thomson's (Nottinghamshire, England) chance go just wide of net in the 23rd minute and her chance was followed by near misses from Nairn and Costa.
Penn State kept pressuring the Illini net and the crafty footwork and speed of Brock allowed her to move into the penalty area on the right wind and send home a far post goal from 15 yards out for a 2-0 lead in the 27th minute. Jess Rosenbluth threaded a ball from PSU's defensive end to Brock who beat the final defender near the top of the penalty area.
"Psychologically we were very prepared," Walsh noted. "Dani Toney and Megan Monroig, the seniors, led us in their approach. In the locker room this team was ready to go and the team went after them as if there's a belief that we'd be the better team today."
Another Brock shot went high 40 seconds later and Rosenbluth had yet another shot saved in the 32nd minute. Two Ali Schaefer (Las Vegas, Nev.) chances were blocked in the 35th and Brock nearly scored her second of the game in the 36th but Kapicka was up to the task. Newly entered Bri Garcia (Babylon, N.Y.) ripped a shot just 50 seconds after her arrival but again Kapicka stopped it.
At the break, Penn State held an impressive 20-2 shot advantage including an 8-0 edge in shots on goal. The second half was a different story as the Illini had the break of running with the wind. After some even play, Illinois began to hit its stride, eventually firing off 11 shots in the half. Only two of the 11 shots found the target and both of those shots were saved by Krissy Tribbett (Centennial, Colo.), one on a Megan Pawloski shot in the 81st minute and another on a Jenna Carosio attempt 40 seconds later.
In the end, Illinois couldn't muster any more offense as Penn State's defense was superior throughout the match. Tribbett ended the game with two saves as the Nittany Lions defeated their highest ranked opponent (No. 13), while themselves being unranked. The previous best were a pair of wins over two 15th-ranked squads (Ohio State in 2009, Minnesota in 2010).
The final stat sheet saw Penn State advantages in shots (23-13) and shots on goals (10-2). Illinois held a 8-5 corner kick advantage, while both teams committed 10 fouls apiece. Penn State defeated Illinois for the fifth straight time and hasn't allowed an Illini goal since 2007. During that stretch PSU has out-scored UI 10-0 in three matches. The Nittany Lions now hold a 19-2-0 mark against the Illini including a 7-1-0 record at Illinois. Head coach Erica Walsh is now a perfect 4-0-0 against Illinois, while the Nittany Lions move to 26-3-2 all-time when Toney notches a goal.
The Nittany Lions return home for two of the final three Big Ten matches as Penn State welcomes Indiana to Happy Valley on Thursday, Oct. 28. The match will begin at 7:00 p.m. and will have live stats coverage through GameTracker and live streaming video coverage on BigTenNetwork.com. The Lions will also be celebrating Halloween on Thursday, so fans are encouraged to wear their best costumes for a halftime contest.
BOX SCORE
| Team | 1st | 2nd | OT1 | OT2 | Total | Record |
| Penn State | 2 | 0 | - | - | 2 | (7-8-1, 5-2-0 Big Ten) |
| #13 Illinois | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | (11-3-1, 4-2-1 Big Ten) |
Scoring Summary
PSU (19:14) - Danielle Toney (5, Jess Rosenbluth, Tani Costa)
PSU (26:03) - Hayley Brock (4, Jess Rosenbluth)
Stat Summary
Shots: PSU 23, ILL 13
Shots on Goal: PSU 10, ILL 2
Corners: PSU 5, ILL 8
Saves: PSU 2, ILL 8
Fouls: PSU 10, ILL 10
Offsides: PSU 2, ILL 0
Booking Summary
Yellow: PSU - Jess Rosenbluth (88:18)
Attendance: 525
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--NITTANY LIONS--