BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Kerry Abello's goal in the 63rd minute gave Penn State a 1-0 win over Indiana on Thursday night. The win marked the 250th career win for head coach Erica Dambach.
The first half was a defensive struggle between the Nittany Lions and the Hoosiers.
Sam Coffey got out of the gate quickly, driving a shot towards the net in the third minute of action. Coffey sidestepped a defender and drove a shot with her left foot. The shot rolled just wide of the net and nearly gave Penn State an early lead.
The Nittany Lions continued to pressure the Hoosiers defense throughout the remainder of the first half, but were unable to score the first goal of the game. Penn State's defense was also impressive in the first half, allowing just one shot on goal and Amanda Dennis made a tremendous save on the lone shot by the Hoosiers.
Penn State outshot Indiana 5-3 in the first half but the scoreboard read 0-0 at the end of the first 45 minutes of action.
Nearly immediately out of the half, Ally Schlegel almost gave the Nittany Lions the lead as she bent a shot towards goal that narrowly missed the back of the net.
The Nittany Lions had another scoring opportunity in the 59th minute. Cori Dyke volleyed a shot that was destined for a goal. A leaping save by the Hoosier goalkeeper kept the score knotted at 0-0.
Penn State continued to push the offensive tempo and the resiliency paid off in the 63rd minute.
A beautiful pass by Frankie Tagliaferri found Kerry Abello as she got behind the Indiana defense. Abello chipped a shot over the goalkeeper to give the Nittany Lions a 1-0 lead.
Amanda Dennis made her second save of the game in the 88th minute to keep the game 1-0 and secure the win.
With Penn State's eighth win of the season, head coach Erica Dambach now has 250 wins as a head coach and 210 wins as the head coach of the Nittany Lions. Penn State's record is now 8-6-1 and 4-3-0 in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions continue the road trip on Sunday, October 13 against Purdue.
