Oct. 11, 2015
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's soccer team captured a 4-0 victory over the Indiana Hoosiers on Senior Day Sunday afternoon at Jeffrey Field. Seniors Raquel Rodriguez (San Jose, Costa Rica) and Mallory Weber (Novi, Mich.) both scored in the match, while goalkeeper Britt Eckerstrom (Germantown, Md.) recorded her 49th win as a Nittany Lion.
"I want to start off by giving credit to Indiana, just really hard fought. They came in here. It's not easy to play in Jeffrey Field, especially on a day like today when the crowd is so great and the Park Avenue Army is on fire," head coach Erica Walsh said. "And that team just kept fighting and fighting. One of the things that I had just said to our squad was just a thank you to our strength coach and trainer because this squad continues to look better and better. I just have to give huge credit to Greg Miskinis and Kelly Saxton. They do an unbelievable job with sports med and strength and conditioning. So, perfect Penn State soccer day, banner day, shutout, goals, goals by our seniors, shutout by our senior, and an opportunity for all of our seniors to get out and contribute. I couldn't have asked for a better day."
The Nittany Lions improve to 10-2-2 (5-1-1), while the Hoosiers fall to 3-7-5 (0-4-3).
Early offensive pressure paid off for the Nittany Lions as Rodriguez scored in the sixth minute of play.
From 12 yards out, Frannie Crouse (Greensburg, Pa.) tallied a shot on goal, but IU's Sarah Stone stepped up for the save. Rodriguez then collected the loose ball from four yards out and connected on her second goal of the season.
The Nittany Lions were inches away from taking a 2-0 lead in the 27th minute of the match.
After making her way on to the field a few seconds earlier for Emily Ogle (Strongsville, Ohio), Nickolette Driesse (Wayne, N.J.) fired a corner kick into the box and found the head of Rodriguez. Off the corner kick, Rodriguez' header hit the crossbar and bounced back into play.
Nine minutes later, Stone made a leaping save off a Rodriguez set piece. From 24 yards out, Rodriguez aimed the ball into the upper-left corner of the net, but Stone was there to deny the Nittany Lion goal.
After a pair of great scoring chances, Penn State found the back of net again in the closing minutes of the first half.
In the 41st minute, Driesse found the feet of Weber inside the penalty area and she connected on a 12-yard shot into the bottom-left corner of the net for the 2-0 lead. Weber's goal Sunday is her seventh of the season and the 35th of her career. She now owns sole possession of 10th-place in goals all-time at Penn State.
At the break, the Nittany Lions led the Hoosiers, 2-0.
Penn State didn't waste time in the second half building on its two-goal lead. Forty seconds into the second half, the Nittany Lions received a set piece from 24 yards out.
On the set piece, Ogle crossed the ball to Megan Schafer (Langhorne, Pa.) in the penalty area and Schafer placed the ball into the bottom-left corner for her seventh goal of her sophomore year. Last season, Schafer scored six goals for the Nittany Lions.
In the closing minutes of the match, sophomore defender Elizabeth Ball (Richmond, Va.) netted her second career goal. From near midfield Liisi Vink-Lainas (Wynantskill, N.Y.) played the ball to E. Ball outside the penalty area. Ball then slipt past the IU defense and beat Stone for the goal.
The Nittany Lion offense peppered the Hoosier defense with 35 shots in the match, while the IU offense tallied two shots on the afternoon.
Stone made 12 saves for IU and Eckerstrom made one save for the Blue and White. After 65 minutes of play, Rose Chandler (Atlanta, Ga.) entered the match and sealed Penn State's seventh shutout of 2015.
With the 49th victory of her career Sunday, Eckerstrom ties Alyssa Naeher ('09) for second all-time at Penn State.
Penn State recorded its third-straight shutout Sunday and has not allowed a goal in the last 333:13 minutes of play. Earlier this season, the Nittany Lion defense held a mark of 384:19 minutes without allowing a goal.
The Nittany Lions will now embark on a three-game road trip. Penn State heads to Purdue (Oct. 15), Rutgers (Oct. 18) and Ohio State (Oct. 24). The Nittany Lions close the regular season at Jeffrey Field with Michigan on Oct. 28.