Sept. 29, 2011
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Blog: Nittany Lions Surge Past Buckeyes in Come-From-Behind Win
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- No. 24 Penn State women's soccer overcame a 1-0 halftime deficit with a trio of lightning-strike goals in a 3-1 victory over Ohio State on Thursday night at Jeffrey Field. Taylor Schram (Canonsburg, Pa.) notched the tying goal 15 seconds after halftime to begin the scoring barrage, while Kori Chapic (Novelty, Ohio) headed home the game-winner 1:44 later. The result coupled with Minnesota's 2-2 tie at Wisconsin, vaulted Penn State into first in the Big Ten with nine points from four games, while UW has eight from four.
Penn State (10-3-0, 3-1-0 Big Ten) allowed a goal at home for the first time all year during a dismal first half. Ohio State's (7-4-1, 2-1-1 Big Ten) Tiffany Cameron breakaway tally nine minutes in provided the early shocking goal.
Nevertheless, the Nittany Lions rallied using along service out of the back from Erin McNulty (Winnipeg, Manitoba) that found Maya Hayes (West Orange, N.J.) 25 yards from net, who laid off a perfectly placed ball to Schram as the sophomore put the show away past OSU's Katie Baumgardner (one save). The goal, scored at 45:15, set the student-crazed crowd into a frenzy and knotted the score at one. The goal was the fastest of the season off a re-start, topping Maddy Evans's (Glenside, Pa.) 62-second tally against West Virginia, a game where McNulty also assisted on a goal. McNulty made four saves to win her 10th game for the Blue and White.
Hayes, tied for the NCAA and Big Ten lead in goals, again used her passing prowess to her advantage nearly two minutes later, taking a poor clearance off a cross and sending to Christine Nairn (Arnold, Md.) on the left wing. The junior All-American lofted a perfectly placed ball onto the head of Chapic who rose above a chorus of players to score her second game-winning goal of the season in the 47th minute. The helper was Nairn's nation-leading ninth assist of the season, while Hayes registered her second of the night, but she wasn't done yet.
In the 54th minute, Penn State built up the attack where Hayes received the ball 30 yards from net. She crossed a defender and sent a ball to her left for Emily Hurd (Sammamish, Wash.) who beat her defender and sent a deftly placed ball into the upper right corner of the net with her left foot for her third goal of the season.
Hayes became the second Nittany Lion this season to tally three assists in a game, matching Schram's feat on Aug. 26, 2011 against West Virginia in a 5-0 win over the then 17th-ranked Mountaineers. For the game, Penn State recorded five assists on three goals, moving the season totals to 45 and 34 in the respective categories.
Penn State would salt the game away, fending off numerous Ohio State advances, none of which seriously contended with the back of the net. The Nittany Lions moved to 5-0-0 at home in 2011 and are enjoying a four-game winning streak, the second longest of the year. PSU went a perfect 3-0-0 during its Big Ten home stand, outscoring the opposition 8-1. In the all-time series, PSU leads 15-6-1 with a 10-1-0 mark at Jeffrey Field.
Ohio State held a 16-11 overall advantage in shots with a 5-4 margin in shots on goal. PSU created seven corner kicks to Ohio State's six, while OSU was the aggressor, committing nine fouls to Penn State's seven.
Penn State returns to action on Sunday when it takes on Minnesota at Noon ET. The game at Robbie Stadium will be streamed live on BTN.com with live stats courtesy of GameTracker on GoPSUsports.com
--NITTANY LIONS--