Sept. 26, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State women's soccer enjoyed a 3-0 week highlighted by Ali Schaefer (Las Vegas, Nev.) as she was named the Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Week. Schaefer also garnered attention on the TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week list released on Monday.
Schaefer played a vital role during Penn State's opening home Big Ten weekend. The senior midfielder tallied two goals and an assist during a 4-0 drilling of Northwestern on Friday before scoring the game-winner over No. 22 Illinois on Sunday in a 1-0 victory. Schaefer's five-point day was a career best as she posted a seven-point weekend. The award is Schaefer's first Big Ten accolade of any kind.
The Nevada native's play was started in the first half against Northwestern scoring off a Christine Nairn (Arnold, Md.) free kick to make the score 2-0. Schaefer doubled her ledger in the second half, scoring on a corner kick by Jess Rosenbluth (Gladwyne, Pa.) for a 3-0 advantage. Schaefer then played a long ball to Maya Hayes (West Orange, N.J.) to cap the scoring at 4-0, the largest margin of victory over Northwestern.
Schaefer's outstanding weekend continued when she tallied a 39th minute goal, which stood up for Penn State's second straight Big Ten win against Illinois. The senior headed a corner kick which was deflected in the penalty area and corralled by Whitney Church (Ashburn, Va.), who played a short ball to Schaefer before she put it away into the far left corner for the deciding goal. It was her second game-winner after her exciting goal against Michigan last year to clinch PSU's 13th straight Big Ten title. Schaefer also earned TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week honors for that performance.
Penn State hosts Ohio State on Thursday at Jeffrey Field for a crucial Big Ten tilt. The match features the two Big Ten Co-Champs from a year ago at 7:00 p.m. OSU is currently in first with a 2-0-1, seven-point record, while Penn State is a point behind with a 2-1-0, six-point mark. Admission is free to the game and all students attending will earn triple points at the match as part of the Code Blue Blast event.
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