EVANSTON, Ill. – The Nittany Lions' three second-half goals propelled them to their first win of the 2021 spring season. Penn State (1-1-0, 1-1-0) topped Northwestern (1-1-0, 1-1-0) 4-1 on Thursday night. Goals were scored by seniors Kristin Schnurr and Sam Coffey and Ally Schlegel netted two goals and added an assist in the victory.
For the second consecutive game, senior Kristin Schnurr got the Nittany Lion on the scoreboard first. Schnurr drilled a shot into the bottom right corner of the goal off a pass from Ally Schlegel. Schlegel beat her defender to the end line, and then found a streaking Schnurr at the top of the 18 and Schnurr powered her shot past the Northwestern keeper.
The Nittany Lions continued to control the possession throughout the majority of the opening period. Penn State pressured the Wildcats backline but could not find the back of the net in the remainder of the first half.
The Wildcats tied the match in the 40th minute on a shot from 25 yards out from Josie Aulicino of Northwestern. Aulicino sent a long ball on net, narrowly sneaking the shot into the net in the upper right corner of the goal to send the teams into the half tied at 1-1.
13 minutes into the second half, Frankie Tagliaferri fought off a Wildcats defender and carried the ball in the box. Tagliaferri was fouled in the box to draw a penalty kick for Penn State. Coffey stepped up and calmly drilled her shot beyond the goalkeepers reach to give Penn State the 2-1 lead.
This goal shifted the momentum to the Nittany Lions. Six minutes later in the 64th minute, the Nittany Lions earned a corner kick. Coffey sent a high, swinging ball into the box that Schlegel headed in for her first goal of the season and extended the lead to 3-1.
Schlegel added another insurance goal in the 75th minute. Coffey sent a blast on goal from outside of the box that the Northwestern goal made a leaping save to keep it out of the back of the net. Schlegel followed the shot and finished the rebound off the post to give the Nittany Lions the final tally of 4-1.
The Nittany Lions continue their road trip on Sunday against Illinois.
NOTES
- Head Coach Erica Dambach collected her 260th win as a head coach and 220th as the head coach of the Nittany Lions. Dambach is 111-23-9 against Big Ten opponents in her Penn State career.
- Ally Schlegel becomes the first Nittany Lions to have five points in a match since Frankie Tagliafferi (5) and Laura Freigang (6) on 11/10/17 against Stony Brook in the NCAA Tournament.
- Schlegel's two goal performance on Thursday was the first multi-goal game of her career.