Sept. 24, 2017
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LINCOLN, Neb. - The No. 7 Penn State women's soccer team battled to a 1-1 draw against the Nebraska Cornhuskers Sunday afternoon at Hibner Stadium. Junior Charlotte Williams (Rochester, N.Y.) scored her 11th career goal in the contest.
The Nittany Lions sit at 7-2-1 on the year and 3-0-1 in Big Ten action, while Nebraska is now 6-3-1 in 2017 and 0-1-1 against Big Ten teams.
Making her first start of the season, sophomore goalkeeper Amanda Dennis (San Diego, Calif.) made six saves for the Nittany Lions, including three saves during the first half of regulation.
Following a water break with 21:02 left in the first half, the Nittany Lions wasted little time getting on the scoreboard.
With possession following the break, Penn State moved the ball around the Nebraska end of the field before Frannie Crouse (Greensburg, Pa.) found Williams just outside the penalty area on the left side of the field. With the ball, Williams moved up a few yards before placing a shot into the upper-left corner of the net past Nebraska goalkeeper Aubrei Corder at 24:16.
Due to lightning strikes in the area, the match featured a 2 hour and 32 minute weather delay with 7:13 left in the first half.
Down 1-0 with under a minute remaining in the opening half, the Huskers were able to capitalize on a Penn State foul. On a free kick from distance, Sinclaire Miramontez placed the ball into the penalty area and Haley Hanson headed home her fifth goal of the season to tie the match at 1-1 with 50 seconds remaining in the first half.
The two teams went into a five-minute halftime with Nebraska outshooting Penn State, 5-4.
After the shortened halftime, Penn State outshot Nebraska by a tally of 5-1 in the second half of regulation, but neither team was able to find the back of the net sending the contest into overtime.
Between the two 10 minute overtime periods, each goalkeeper recorded three saves to keep the match tied at 1-1.
Down the final stretch of the second overtime period, Penn State had a pair of scoring opportunities hindered by the Nebraska defense.
After a Cornhusker foul near the 18-yard box, Emily Ogle (Strongsville, Ohio) stepped up for a free kick and swung the ball to Megan Schafer (Langhorne, Pa.), who in turn headed the ball just wide of the net. The last scoring chance for the Nittany Lions came with the final seconds ticking off the clock as Laura Freigang (Oppenheim, Germany) fired a shot on goal from 22 yards out, but Corder was there to collect her fourth save of the afternoon.
The Nittany Lions close out their three-match road trip as they head to Ohio State on Sept. 30. The match is slated for a 6 p.m. start at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
NOTES: Penn State leads the all-time series against Nebraska, 4-1-2...Penn State outshot Nebraska, 15-9...Crouse has tallied at least one assist in back-to-back contests...Crouse recorded her 86th career point on Sunday...Nebraska's goal at 44:10 snapped a shutout streak of 343:06 for the Nittany Lion defense.