Sept. 30, 2016
By Maria Canales, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" Despite a gloomy forecast before the game, the No. 14 Penn State women's soccer team (8-2-2, 4-0-1 Big Ten) shined brightly at Jeffrey Field on Friday night. The Nittany Lions defeated the Illinois Fighting Illini (3-9-1, 0-4-1 Big Ten) 2-0, thanks to a unified effort from the midfield.
With the temporary departure of midfielder Emily Ogle to the United States U-20 Women's National Team, Penn State head coach Erica Dambach has leaned on other midfielders during recent games.
At the start of Friday night's match, four midfielders took to the field. Senior Nickolette Driesse, redshirt junior Salina Williford, junior Haleigh Echard, and sophomore Charlotte Williams worked with one another to open up opportunities on offense.
"Just watching the way that they train and we're trying to really keep track of them on a daily basis," Dambach said of picking her starting four midfielders. "Just giving the nod to the players that are continuing to perform every day."
Echard, who is more offensive-minded at midfield, constantly surveyed the field for open attackers. Echard assisted junior forward Frannie Crouse's goal, which gave the Nittany Lions a 1-0 lead. Crouse has eight goals so far this season.
With less than ten minutes left in the first half, Dambach made the decision to substitute three midfielders for two midfielders and a defender. This strategy, Dambach explained, was to prevent Illinois from tying the game in the last few minutes of the half.
"We focus so much on the defending piece because you can always do that well," Dambach said. "And then if the attacking isn't coming along then you still have 50 percent of your game going well. I give so much credit to Sheva, [Williams], and [Echard] because they've come such a long way in their defending."
Midfielders support offensive attacks but also easily transition to a defensive role. Active communication between midfielders and other players is essential. The midfield connects the defense with the offense, controlling transitions and setting plays.
"It's super important [for the midfield to communicate with the forwards], because if not it's a mess," Crouse said. "In the first half we started off really slow and weren't connecting and then we got our stuff together and throughout the second half I thought we played a lot better with connecting and movement off the midfield and front line."
Crouse also gave credit to the defense, which has consistently been shutting down opposing team's offenses this season.
"Our defense, throughout is growing and they've become such a great line," Crouse said. "I hate playing against them in practice let alone other teams. They're so great to have back there, they create such a trust that you know that they're going to get that ball."
During the second half, the midfielders continued their dominance. Sophomore midfielder Marissa Sheva found the back of the net for the first time this season to widen the Nittany Lions' lead, 2-0. Williams got the assist.
"It was awesome," Sheva said. "I've been waiting for it for a little bit but I think things are finally starting to click for us as a team and our attack. Things have just been going well and coming away with another win in the Big Ten is always big for us."