Oct. 26, 2013
IOWA CITY, Iowa - After clinching at least a share of the Big Ten title on Friday afternoon by grinding out a 2-1 win over Iowa, the Nittany Lions cruised to a 5-0 victory over UC Davis to complete their stay in Iowa City. The win moves Penn State's record to 13-3 on the season.
The Blue and White put the match away early against the Aggies, scoring four goals in the first 16 minutes. All four goals came from different Nittany Lions, with Laura Gebhart (Mount Joy, Pa.), Taylor Herold (Fredericksburg, Va.), Whitney Reddig (Lititz, Pa.) and Casey Haegele (Warrington, Pa.) all finding the back of the cage. In the second half, Abby Fuhrman (Bainbridge, Pa.) added another score to cement the 5-0 win for Penn State.
The Nittany Lions wasted no time in getting the scoring action started. With less than two minutes gone by in the first frame, Gebhart put the Blue and White on the scoreboard. The junior collected a pass from Ashtin Klingler (Selinsgrove, Pa.) and placed a low shot into the cage for the first of many Penn State goals. The midfielder's goal was her first of the season.
Five minutes after Gebhart put the Blue and White in the lead, Herold doubled the PSU lead, finding the back of the net for her team-leading 11th goal of the season and putting the Lions up 2-0 over the Aggies. Klingler set up the goal, recording her second assist of the match.
In the 11th minute Reddig scored off a penalty corner set piece for her fifth goal of the season, just one shy of the career-high six goals she scored in her junior campaign. Jenna Chrismer (Mountain Top, Pa.) picked up an assist on the play.
Haegele put her name in the scorebook in the 16th minute, increasing Penn State's lead to 4-0 with just under 20 minutes to play in the opening half. The junior's goal was her first of the season and second of her Nittany Lion career. On the score, Klingler picked up her third assist of the match, setting a new career high for assists in a match.
After the scoring barrage of four goals, neither team found the cage for the remainder of the half and PSU took a commanding 4-0 lead into the break. The four goals matched the team's most in a half this season, as the squad scored four in the second half vs. Delaware and in the first half vs. Ohio State.
The Penn State midfield dominated the opening 35 minutes of play, not allowing a single Aggie shot or penalty corner. The Lions fired seven shots, with four on frame and attempted five penalty corners.
After being held scoreless for much of the second stanza, the Blue and White added to its lead. Fuhrman fired home her second goal of the season and her career on her fourth shot of the afternoon. The 61st minute goal put the exclamation point on Penn State's 5-0 win.
The Penn State defense turned in another impressive performance. The Nittany Lions allowed just one UC Davis shot in the match, allowing Kylie Licata (Mountain Top, Pa.) to comfortably record her Big Ten leading seventh shutout of the season.
The Nittany Lions wrap up the regular season at Michigan next weekend, as the team looks to win the Big Ten title outright for the sixth time in school history. The match is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 1 at 4 p.m.
MATCH NOTES: The meeting with UC Davis is the first in program history ... Penn State is now 8-3 in non-conference play ... The shutout was Penn State's seventh of the season, all coming within the last 12 matches ... The seven shutouts lead the Big Ten ... The win pushes Penn State's winning streak to 12-straight matches, the longest active streak in the country ... The 12-match win streak is tied for the fourth longest in program history ... The last time the Nittany Lions recorded a win streak of 12 or more matches was the 2005 season when the team won 17 consecutive matches ... The Blue and White closes out October with a perfect 6-0 record, which is the most wins in October since the 2010 season ... The Lions have now recorded an undefeated October in back-to-back seasons ... Herold's goal gives the junior 11 on the season, which leads the team ... Gebhart's opening goal was her first of the season ... Klingler recorded a career-high in assists in a match with three, assisting on three of the first four goals ... The five goals came from five Nittany Lions, matching the most Penn State players to score in a single match this season ... PSU is now 4-0 when playing on Saturday's this season ... The Nittany Lions are 9-1 away from Happy Valley this season and 2-0 in games played at neutral sites.