Sept. 23, 2013
By Matt Allibone, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVESITY PARK, Pa. - Moments after Northwestern's Kate Allen scored her second goal of the night to give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead in the second half, Penn State senior forwards Maya Hayes and Taylor Schram glanced toward each other and shared a look.
Even with their squad just 13 minutes away from their first home loss of the season, the Nittany Lions had just one thing on their minds.
"All I though was that we were winning this game," said Hayes. "This team has such a belief in ourselves and we know that we don't lose at home and we don't lose in the Big Ten."
In the blink of an eye, the Lions would turn the momentum of the game.
Junior defender Whitney Church and Hayes scored back to back goals in a five minute span to tie the game and Church added her second of the night in double overtime to give Penn State a thrilling 3-2 victory.
Coming just one week after the Nittany Lions came back from down 2-0 to beat Oklahoma State, head coach Erica Walsh and her team are beginning to feel like they can dig themselves out of any situation.
"Right when (our players) thought they were exhausted they realized that they had so much more in them," said Walsh. "I'm very proud of the way our team dug this one out."
The rally started just two minutes after the Wildcats second goal, when Raquel Rodriguez sent a corner kick into the box that Church headed past Northwestern goalie Jenna Hascher from six yards out to get the Lions on the board.
Having produced 16 shots in the first 78 minutes of the game without scoring, Church's goal gave her team the boost of energy they needed.
"We have some of the best service from Raquel," said Church. "She knows exactly where to put (the ball), so all I had to do was beat my defender and I was able to get it in the back of the net."
Now needing just one more goal tie the game, the Nittany Lions would turn to who else but the reigning National Player of the Week, Maya Hayes.
After going almost the entire game without getting a shot off, Hayes would make her lone chance of the night count, taking a long pass from junior midfielder Kori Chapic and touching it past Hascher to even the score at 2-2.
"We had the momentum and we were just pressing forward trying to get another goal," said Hayes. "Kori played a great ball and I just stayed composed and got my foot on it."
The intensity would be kicked into another gear during the final minutes of regulation and overtime, as the Nittany Lions would create numerous chances that narrowly missed ending the game.
Finally, with under four minutes remaining in the second overtime, Church hammered a ball from 20 yards out that would find its way into the corner of the net to give the Lions the victory and send the 3,118 fans at Jeffrey field into a frenzy.
The Big Ten Defender of the Year last season, goal scoring is not typically the biggest part of Church's game, but the Ashburn, Va native stated that she was happy to help her team in whatever way possible.
"It's always great to help your team out in anyway that you can," said Church. "Some days it'll be defending and other days it's scoring."
Having outshot the Wildcats, 29-11, but still having to scramble late in the game to produce the win, it would have been easy for the Blue and White to get frustrated and lose their confidence.
Church believes that her team's ability to keep their composure comes not just from their faith in each other but also in the ability of their coaching staff to make adjustments within the game.
"We have a lot of heart and determination and we love to play for each other," said Church. "The coaching staff is so knowledgeable and good at thinking on their feet that nothing is ever a problem for us."
For Walsh, her team's track record of pulling out close games along with the comfort of being on their home field gave her the sense that somehow, the Nittany Lions were going to pull it off.
"You're never truly comfortable being down two goals with ten minutes left but experience certainly helps," said Walsh. "There is a kind of magic here at Jeffrey Field and we all felt it tonight."