Oct. 12, 2012
LINCOLN, Neb. - The fourth ranked Penn State women's soccer team (13-2-0, 7-0-0) won its eighth consecutive contest with a 4-0 victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Friday evening. The Nittany Lions improve their record to 2-0 all-time against Nebraska.
Just four minutes into the contest, junior Maya Hayes (West Orange, N.J.) quickly put the Nittany Lions on the board with her 10th goal of the season to give Penn State a 1-0 advantage. Freshman Mallory Weber (Novi, Mich.) netted her ninth goal of the season 17 minutes later to give Penn State a 2-0 lead. Hayes was not done as she scored her second goal of the game to put Penn State up 3-0 in the second half and then assisted junior Taylor Schram's (Canonsburg, Pa.) as Penn State left Lincoln with a 4-0 victory.
Senior Christine Nairn (Arnold, Md.) moved into a tie for second place in school history for assists with Joanna Lohman with 37. Additionally, Hayes moved into ninth place alone for points with 95 and trails Danielle Toney by one point for eighth place. Senior keeper Erin McNulty (Winnipeg, Manitoba) earned her second complete shutout of the season, as she made three saves in goal.
Weber played an essential role in Penn State's goal. The freshman dribbled ball out of Penn State's defensive third of the field and took it to the offensive third. From there, Weber played it ahead up the right sideline Nairn. The senior crossed the ball into the box and found Hayes, who knocked it in from 15 yards out to give Penn State the 1-0 lead.
Moments later, Nebraska would have a shot saved by McNulty to keep the lead in check. After 16-plus minutes of no dangerous attacks on either end, Weber would cash in to give the Lions a 2-0 advantage. The reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week deflected her shot of a Nebraska defender and into the back of the net to increase Penn State's lead.
Penn State's third and fourth goals came late into the second half. Hayes scored her second of the game at the 81-minute mark on a mistake by the Nebraska keeper. Hayes won a ball and got past the keeper who came off her line, giving the junior an open net.
Schram's goal came on an assist from Hayes. From the south side of the goal, Hayes played a cross in and found Schram far post, who scored from 10 yards out. The goal for Schram was her second in as many games.
Penn State now turns to its contest with the Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday at 2 p.m. Penn State has never dropped a point to Iowa, owning a 17-0-0 mark against the Hawkeyes. In the 17 meetings with Iowa, Penn State has out-scored the Hawkeyes, 65-8. Last season, the Nittany Lions downed Iowa, 4-0, in Happy Valley.
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