Oct. 12, 2015
By Jack Dougherty, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" The Penn State women's soccer team defeated Big Ten foe Indiana, 4-0, on Senior Day Sunday afternoon for its fourth straight victory. The win propelled the Nittany Lions to 10-2-2 on the year and 5-1-1 in Big Ten play.
The seniors led the way for the Blue and White on an emotional day that featured family, flowers, and a few tears, happy and sad. They wasted no time getting to work after the senior day festivities halted and the whistle blew.
In the sixth minute, Raquel Rodriguez netted her second goal of 2015 off a rebound from point blank range. A well-timed ball found sophomore Frannie Crouse in the box against the keeper, but Indiana's Sarah Stone was able to turn away the close range shot. Luckily, Rodriguez was the player on the pitch who followed the shot, and she converted with a wide open net.
"It's really important to score early because it opens up the scoreboard and gets us going," said Rodriguez. "We're not settled with just one or two, though. We always want to go for more and more."
Later in the half, Rodriguez found herself with another promising chance off a corner kick, but the senior's header slammed off the crossbar and bounced out of harm's way.
Penn State mustered up numerous chances the rest of the half but couldn't find the back of the net again until close before the halftime whistle. This time, it was fellow captain and senior Mallory Weber's turn. In the 41st minute, Nickolette Driesse received a ball near the box with plenty of room to run and eventually found Weber alone on the right side who fired a low shot to the bottom left corner to make it 2-0.
"It's still a competition with the forwards," Weber said. "I still have to show the coaches I can still play up top and finish my chances so it's always nice just to get on the board and help the team and keep the momentum."
"You can't replace those guys," said head coach Erica Walsh. "I know you say that every year but look at this senior class. Straight across the board, all five of them. This is an unbelievable senior class."
Weber's goal marked her team leading fifth on the year and 35th of her illustrious career. She is now 10th all-time in Penn State scoring history. She also moved up to third in the Big Ten this season with 19 points in 2015.
It wasn't solely seniors who contributed to the score line, however. Sophomore Megan Schafer got in on the fun a minute into the second half with a jumping deflection off a corner kick that squeaked past the keeper for her second goal in as many games.
The Nittany Lions continued to pile it on late in the game courtesy of Elizabeth Ball. The primary starting center back got some work at forward for the last few minutes of the contest, and she made them count. In the 89th minute Ball received a pass in the middle of the field, beat the lone defender to her left and accurately placed a shot into the lower corner to seal the 4-0 win.
Penn State outshot Indiana 35-2 in the contest. Senior goalie Britt Eckerstrom wasn't called upon much, but she recorded her sixth shutout win this season and third in a row. The defense collectively has allowed a meager six shots in those games combined, while PSU has taken 45 and scored eight.
The Nittany Lions head to West Lafayette, Ind., on Thursday to battle the Purdue Boilermakers at 7 p.m. searching for their fifth straight victory.