Oct. 6, 2017
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 14 Penn State women's soccer team (8-3-1) secured its sixth shutout in the 2017 season with a 2-0 victory over the University of Michigan (5-3-6) Friday, Oct. 6 at Jeffrey Field.
"A perfect October tonight here on Jeffrey Field, said head coach Erica Dambach. "We had a phenomenal crowd here, obviously a really important night honoring breast cancer survivors. I am really just thrilled with the performance from this group of girls, from both sides of the ball."
"I thought that Rose Chandler was exceptional tonight when she came up with some huge saves for us, stated Dambach. "It was also really exciting to get Megan Schafer on the board and see the pure heart from her today. Overall I thought that it was a really solid performance."
The Nittany Lion offense came out in full force, outshooting Michigan 16-7 with seven shots on goal compared to the Wolverines three. Senior Frannie Crouse (Greensburg, Pa.) put four of Penn State's seven shots on net, while seniors Brittany Basinger (Purcellville, Va.) and Megan Schafer (Langhorne, Pa.) found the back of the net for the Blue and White. Redshirt-junior goalkeeper Rose Chandler (Atlanta, Ga.) earned her fourth shutout of the season, saving three shots on the day.
The Penn State offense started off pressing, earning two corner kicks in the first 10 minutes of the match. Following the Blue and White's second corner kick, the ball bounced off the head of a Wolverine defender and onto foot of Basinger, who took a left-footed shot past a diving keeper into the lower half of the net from eight yards out to give the Nittany Lions a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute of play.
After a break at the half, the Michigan offense came out strong, taking seven-straight corner kicks. The Penn State defense allowed just one shot on net that Chandler punched out of the air to maintain the Nittany Lion lead.
The Blue and White came streaking down the field in the 76th minute when Charlotte Williams (Rochester, N.Y.) passed the ball ahead of Schafer, who gathered the ball nine yards out and took a one-time shot into the bottom left corner of the net to extend the Penn State lead to 2-0.
The Nittany Lions kept the Michigan offense at bay for the final minutes of action to lock up the 2-0 home victory at Jeffrey Field.
Penn State will celebrate the career of its seven seniors, sponsored by the Penn State Alumni Association, Sunday, Oct. 8 when Michigan State comes to town for a 1 p.m. Big Ten Conference contest at Jeffrey Field.
Notes: Penn State leads the series 21-4-7 against Michigan…The Nittany Lions have an all-time Big Ten record of 191-28-14…The Blue and White has recorded six shutouts in 12 matches this season…Penn State has a 142-101-4 record when scoring at least two goals under Coach Dambach…PSU has a 105-6-5 record in Big Ten play at Jeffrey Field with Dambach at the helm…Basinger netted her first goal of the 2017 season and the fifth of her career…Schafer recorded her 73rd career point to take sole possession of 18th all-time in Nittany Lion laurels…Schafer also ties for 18th all-time with Kelly Convey as each have netted 28 career goals…Williams now ties with Schafer for 24th all-time in Penn State women's soccer standings with 17 career assists…Crouse is now the career leader in shots for Penn State women's soccer with 218.