Oct. 25, 2013
IOWA CITY, Iowa - Despite a two-goal performance by senior Tani Costa (Honolulu, Hawaii), the No. 16 Penn State women's soccer team could not get past a tough Iowa attack as the Lions fell to the Hawkeyes, 3-2, on Friday night at the Iowa Soccer Complex.
The loss moves the Nittany Lions to 12-4-1 overall and 6-3-0 in Big Ten action while the Hawkeyes improve to 12-4-1, 4-4-1. The Blue and White were outshot for just the second time this season as they made 11 attempts to Iowa's 16.
Redshirt junior Katie Nasenbenny found the back of the net early in the game to give the Hawks a 1-0 advantage in the fourth minute of action. Iowa was awarded a corner kick at the 3:50 mark and was able to capitalize as Ashley Catrell crossed the ball to Nasenbenny and the midfielder put the ball in on a header.
The Hawkeyes looked to extend their lead seven minutes later as junior Melanie Pickert attempted a shot. The defender's aim was on target but she could not get past PSU keeper Britt Eckerstrom (Germantown, Md.), who picked up her first save of the match. Two minutes later, Hawkeye forward Cloe Lacasse made another attempt but the Lions came up with the stop again as a defender booted the ball away from the goal.
Costa netted her first goal in 23rd minute on a penalty kick after an Iowa defender was called for a hand ball inside the box. The forward buried the ball into the bottom left corner of the net to tie the match a 1-1.
Iowa pulled ahead again at the 40:31 mark as Catrell sneaked the ball past Eckerstrom to put the score at 2-1.
The Hawkeye lead would not last long, however, as Costa tallied the equalizer less than a minute later. Costa received the ball on a throw in from Emily Carrollo (Sussex, N.J.) and fired it in at the far post from just outside the 18 yard box to bring the count to 2-2 in the 42nd minute.
Each team took just four shots apiece in the second half but Iowa found success on the final attempt as Lacasse notched the game-winning goal for the Hawkeyes in the 75th minute to cap the scoring at 3-2.
The Nittany Lions continue their three-game road swing on Sunday, facing Big Ten front-runner Nebraska. The match is slated to begin at 2:00 p.m. (EST) at the Nebraska Soccer Field.