Nov. 6, 2015
By Jack Dougherty, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" The game of soccer is heavily influenced by momentum. One can't stress enough the importance of jumping on the opponent early and dictating the pace of the game from the start.
Penn State has been incredibly effective in this area all season. The Nittany Lions have scored first in 13 of their 19 contests in 2015. They have been victorious in all 13 of those games.
"You gain so much momentum once you get up a goal," said sophomore forward Megan Schafer. "We feel like we have a huge advantage every time we score first. It's so crucial to score first and set the tempo right away."
Penn State doesn't wait for goals to come. Head coach Erica Walsh likes to start the attack from the minute the referee blows the whistle, specifically if the Nittany Lions own the kick off. The Blue and White begins every game with an all-out bull rush up one side of the field, as the player receiving the kick off boots it to the corner of the box for the surging forwards.
"It's all about the mentality of a territorial battle," Walsh said. "Early on we want to put a ball in the box and mentally be on top of them. The number of times that I see a ball go from kick off to goalkeeper is way too often. Everybody's so excited and ready to go so we love to take advantage of that energy."
The Nittany Lions haven't lost a game this year when netting at least one goal. Each of their losses have ended in 1-0 decisions, proving how vital the first goal of the game always is.
"You don't need to look any further than the Michigan game," said Walsh. "Britt Eckerstrom came up with a huge save early in that game that totally changed the tone of that game. They put one away early and we're in serious trouble. That's what we talked to the team about today. Especially against a team like Michigan who's so stingy on defense and has such a belief in their defending, the first goal is going to be crucial Friday night."
The majority of teams are content with switching the focus to defense after getting an early lead, but not Penn State. Out of its 13 wins when scoring first, Penn State tacked on at least one more goal in 11 of those matches.
"That's the mentality we've had all year," Schafer said. "The Michigan game was a good example when we scored three goals in less than three minutes. We always talk about getting after it the next five minutes after a goal and we did that well against Michigan."
The hindrance of playing defensively after a goal is that the opponent can control possession and even generate more chances. The Nittany Lions take a different approach because of their high octane offense that averages 16.5 shots per game and a Big Ten best 2.16 goals per contest,
"That's been a common theme all year," said Walsh. "Early in the year we either didn't start off quickly enough or we started off quickly and took our foot of the gas. So, finding that balance and encouraging these guys to keep your foot on their throat has been the message lately. We have to continue running at them and using our speed and strength to stay on the offense."
A strong reason why more teams don't keep attacking is a lack of confidence in their defense. Many coaches need to push more players back to aid the defensive effort after an early goal. That's not the case for Penn State, and goalkeeper Britt Eckerstrom is the biggest reason why.
"I've got so much confidence in Britt and this back line," Walsh said. "They've really been coming together as a unit and their movement as a line has improved tremendously. Britt comes off the field hoarse after every game and for a good reason. She doesn't stop from the opening whistle and it's all productive. It's exactly what you want out of your goalkeeper."
"We want to take as much pressure off her as we can, but we have so much trust in her and the defense," said Schafer. "We do everything we can up top to prevent them from doing as much work, but we can keep up the aggressiveness all game because they're so solid back there."
The first goal will again be an area to watch in Friday's Big Ten tournament semifinal match against Michigan. The Nittany Lions and Wolverines have the two highest scoring offenses in the conference, so both sides will be looking to get off to a quick start. The match begins at 6 p.m. with live coverage from BTN.