EVANSTON, Ill. - Despite outshooting the No. 21 Northwestern Wildcats, 16-2, the No. 20 Penn State women's soccer team dropped a 1-0 decision Thursday night at Martin Stadium.
During the first half of play, Northwestern (7-1-2, 1-1-1 Big Ten) goalkeeper Mackenzie Wood made a pair of saves on Emily Ogle (Strongsville, Ohio), with both shots coming from distance. The first shot of the evening came in the seventh minute, as Ogle put a shot on goal, but Wood was able to leap and push the ball out of play.
The second save on Ogle came in the 28th minute, as Wood dived to her right to keep the Nittany Lions (5-4-0, 1-1-0 Big Ten) off the scoreboard.
With the contest looking like it was going into halftime tied at 0-0, the Wildcats got a corner kick with 32 seconds left in the first half of play. On the ensuing corner kick, the Nittany Lions were unable to clear the ball and Kayla Sharples put the Wildcats up 1-0 with eight seconds left in the first half.
Looking to tie things up at 1-1 in the second half, the Nittany Lions put four shots on goal, but Wood was there each time to secure the shutout victory.
No. 20 Penn State continues the Midwest road trip at Illinois on Saturday, Sept. 22. The match is slated for an 8 p.m. (EDT) start at Illinois Soccer Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.
NOTES: Penn State leads the all-time series against Northwestern, 25-4-0…Penn State outshot Northwestern, 16-2…Emily Ogle started her 84th career match.