Oct. 31, 2010
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - After nine games in the Big Ten season, the conference's top two teams, Penn State and Ohio State are tied at the top. Penn State got off to a slow start on a breezy Sunday afternoon, conceding a first-minute goal to Purdue before scoring six unanswered in a 6-1 win at the Varsity Soccer Complex. Tani Costa (Honolulu, Hawaii) scored twice, while Danielle Toney (Northville, Mich.), Christine Nairn (Arnold, Md.), Maya Hayes (West Orange, N.J.) and Hayley Brock (Acton, Mass.) pitched in with a goal each.
Penn State's win coupled with Ohio State's upset loss at Indiana on Sunday moves the Nittany Lions into a tie for first with OSU. Both teams are tied atop the standings at 7-2-0 with 21 points, while Wisconsin is a point behind at 6-1-2. All three teams have one game left to play.
"Dani Toney was our best player in the first half," Head coach Erica Walsh said, "which was poor overall. We did not come to play. We had a good bit of energy off the bus and it felt like by the time the game started we were flat. Dani kept us going and we got going after her goal."
Purdue (6-11-2, 2-6-1 Big Ten) opened the proceedings with the fastest goal by a PSU opponent in women's soccer history. Kellie Phillips played a ball down the left wing to Kaitlyn Blancha who scored her first career goal to the right side netting just 21 seconds into the game. The previous fastest goal was a Kristine Larsen strike 27 seconds into a game that Penn State also won, 2-1, over UCLA on Aug. 25, 2006.
"We got caught ball watching and they took advantage of it," Walsh noted. "We responded well though."
The Nittany Lions (9-8-1, 7-2-0 Big Ten) tried to counter immediately as Toney made a run down the left wing but her close-range attempt was saved easily by Carianne Betts (five saves). After some Purdue possession, Toney again had a nice chance as her right-footed opportunity curved just wide of the net on the near post in the ninth minute.
Toney finally broke through in the 17th minute as she weaved through the Boilermaker midfield and slotted home the equalizer off the right wing as the ball caromed off the post. The goal was Toney's seventh of the season and 37th in her career at Penn State, inching her closer to seventh on the all-time list (Joanna Lohman, 41). In other record book topics, Toney moved into a tie for ninth place with Courtney Lawson in games played at Penn State.
In the 34th minute, Costa fired a shot, which was blocked but the rebound came right back to Costa's feet who was alone for a breakaway chance and she slotted home the go-ahead goal to the left side past Betts. The goal kept Costa in line with Toney's scoring ways tying the senior's team leading seventh goal of the year.
""It feels great," Costa said. "I feel like I'm really breaking out as a Penn State player and it feels really good."
Despite Purdue taking most of the possession in the first stanza, the Nittany Lions held a large advantage in shots, 10-3, with a 4-2 edge in shots on goal. The scoring for Penn State would continue early and often in the second half.
In the 50th minute, Nairn played a nice feed to Costa who put a laser into the upper right corner of the net past Betts from 20 yards out for a 3-1 lead, her fifth goal in four days. Moreover, Costa took over the team-lead in goal with her eighth tally of the season.
"I liked my second goal the best because I wokred hard on defense to win the ball back," Costa continued, "and I put in from the top of the 18 into the upper corner. It was a sick goal."
"Tani is a true goal scorer," Walsh added. "She's gaining confidence she's been good on the ball. If she gets in and around the goal she knows where to put it."
In the 54th minute, Ali Schaefer's (Las Vegas, Nev.) initial shot was blocked and fell to Nairn who put the goal away to the left side to open up a three-goal margin. Schaefer notched her first point of the year on the assist, while Nairn notched her seventh tally of the year. Nairn still holds the team-lead in points with 20 behind those seven goals and six assists, while Costa trails closely behind with 19 points and Toney with 18.
The scoring continued in the 77th minute when Toney laid a beautiful pass across the goal mouth to a running Hayes, who tapped it in for her fifth of the season. Minutes later, Brock got in on the action with an unassisted tally in the 80th minute to make it 6-1, her sixth tally of the year.
"That's one of the best things going for us," Walsh noted of the five goal scorers. "We have a lot of weapons coming from a lot of areas. They're selfish when they need to be but they're willing to pass the ball like Dani was when she got Maya involved for the goal."
Penn State out-shot Purdue 22-5 on the day, including an 11-3 margin in shots on goal as Krissy Tribbett (Centennial, Colo.) made two saves following the early Purdue marker.
The Nittany Lions scored at least four goals in back-to-back games for the first time since Penn State pulled the trick in three straight matches during the 2005 NCAA Tournament (6-0 vs. Bucknell, 5-2 vs. West Virginia, 4-1 vs. Texas A&M). The last time Penn State put in six goals in two straight games was Oct. 28-Nov. 4, 2001 when PSU defeated Pittsburgh (6-2) and George Mason (6-0). The six tallies were the most scored on the road since an Oct. 24, 2004 match at Iowa, which was an 8-0 win. The six goals tied the most Purdue has conceded at home since 1999 vs. Iowa.
Penn State moved to 10-1-1 all-time against Purdue, giving PSU at least 10 wins against every Big Ten opponent. Additionally, the Lions improved to 28-3-2 when Toney scores, while the win gives Penn State seven wins in the Big Ten for the 13th straight year. It also puts the Nittany Lions over .500 for the first time since Aug. 27 after a 1-1 double-overtime draw with Virginia.
Penn State welcomes Michigan for a 1:00 p.m. match on Sunday at Jeffrey Field. The Nittany Lions will be celebrating Senior Day as Toney and Megan Monroig (Northumberland, Pa.) will be honored prior to the match. The game has major implications on the Big Ten standings as a win by PSU guarantees a share of the Big Ten Championship, which would be the NIttany Lions' 13th straight title.
Also, Penn State will be holding its Pink Day as all proceeds and event donations will go to the WBCA PinkZone event in connection with the Lady Lion basketball team's program, which will take place in February. Fans will have an opportunity to donate to the cause for special Penn State women's soccer t-shirts, signed soccer balls and other great items at the stadium.
BOX SCORE
| Team | 1st | 2nd | OT1 | OT2 | Total | Record |
| Penn State | 2 | 4 | - | - | 6 | (9-8-1, 7-2-0 Big Ten) |
| Purdue | 1 | 0 | - | - | 1 | (6-11-2, 2-6-1 Big Ten) |
Scoring Summary
PUR (0:21) - Kaitlyn Blacha (1, Kellie Philips, Alexis Tryba)
PSU (16:46) - Danielle Toney (7, unassisted)
PSU (26:47) - Tani Costa (7, unassisted)
PSU (49:40) - Tani Costa (8, Christine Nairn)
PSU (53:05) - Christine Nairn (7, Ali Schaefer)
PSU (76:06) - Maya Hayes (5, Danielle Toney)
PSU (79:09) - Hayley Brock (6, Megan Monroig)
Stat Summary
Shots: PSU 22, PUR 5
Shots on Goal: PSU 11, PUR 3
Corners: PSU 5, PUR 3
Saves: PSU 2, PUR 5
Fouls: PSU 5, PUR 5
Offsides: PSU 4, PUR 2
Booking Summary
None
Attendance: 353
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--NITTANY LIONS--