UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The #6 Penn State women's soccer team (8-1-1, 8-1-1) hosts Maryland on Saturday, April 3 for senior day at Jeffrey Field . The Nittany Lions are coming off a 3-0 win over Nebraska to clinch their 20th Big Ten regular season title.
Frankie Tagliaferri, Rachel Wasserman and Elle Kershner all scored in the win as Kat Asman collected her fourth shutout of the season.
Penn State is 12-4 all-time against Maryland.
Game Information
- Date: Saturday, April 3, 2021 | Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
- Location: University Park, Pa. | Venue: Jeffrey Field
- Series Record: PSU 12-4
Penn State Breakdown
Record: 8-1-1, 8-1-1
Top Scorers: Ally Schlegel – 7 Goals, Sam Coffey – 6 Goals, Frankie Tagliaferri – 4 goals
Top Assists: Coffey – 7 Assists, Tagliaferri – 5 Assists
Nittany Lions Last Time Out
- The Nittany Lions got off to a red-hot start as senior captain Frankie Tagliaferri scored her fourth goal of the season in the fourth minute of the match to give Penn State a 1-0 lead.
- Just four minutes later, Rachel Wasserman netted her first goal of the 2021 spring campaign to put the Nittany Lions in front 2-0. Assists were credited to Big Ten points leader Ally Schlegel and Payton Linnehan.
- The Penn State back line was clicking on all cylinders in the first half, allowing only one shot from Nebraska and preserved the two-goal lead.
- Maddie Myers would send two more shots towards the net in an attempt to extend the lead in the first half, but couldn't put them on target.
- Penn State took its 2-0 lead into halftime.
- Linnehan and Elle Kershner connected in the 61st minute to extend the Nittany Lions lead to 3-0 on Kershner's second goal of the season. Linnehan sliced through the Nebraska backline and sent a perfect cross to the feet of Kershener and she buried her shot into the bottom right corner of the net.
- Sam Coffey had a pair of shots that were saved and nearly made the lead 4-0 for Penn State in the following minutes.
- Nittany Lions goalkeeper Katherine Asman saved both shots she faced in the second half and recorded her fourth shutout of the season with the 3-0 win.
- Penn State held Nebraska to just eight shots in the match and just two on goal.
- The Nittany Lions 20 Big Ten regular season championships is 16 more than the next closest program in the conference.
- Erica Dambach's 11 Big Ten titles as head coach are the most in Big Ten history.
- Schlegel and Coffey are tied atop the Big Ten in every offensive category. Schlegel leads the conference in goals with seven and Coffey tops the league with six assists. Schlegel and Coffey are tied for the Big Ten lead in points (18) and game-winning goals (3).
Stat Leaders
The Nittany Lions top the following stat categories in the Big Ten Conference:
Team
Points – 66 (1st)
Goals – 23 (1st)
Assists – 20 (1st)
Individual
Game-Winning Goals –Coffey/Schlegel – 3 (T-1st)
Points – Sam Coffey – 19 (1st)
Goals – Ally Schlegel – 7 (1st)
Assists – Sam Coffey – 7 (1st)
TRIO OF SCORERS
Ally Schlegel leads the Big Ten in scoring with seven goals after leading the league with 13 goals last year. The Nittany Lions have three players that have scored 20 or more goals in their career (Coffey – 34, Tagliaferri – 21, Schlegel – 20).
Player of the Week
Senior captain Frankie Tagliaferri has been named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week as announced by the league on Tuesday afternoon. She was also named to the TopDrawerSoccer team of the week.
Tagliaferri earns the first Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week award of her career. Last week in the Nittany Lions two wins, Tagliaferri assisted on Ally Schlegel's goal in the 1-0 win over Iowa and netted the game-winner in the Nittany Lions 3-0 win over Nebraska on Sunday.
Penn State's 3-0 win over Nebraska clinched the 20th Big Ten title in program history.
Tagliaferri is second on the team with five assists and third on the team with four goals and 13 points during the 2021 spring season. Tagliaferri has been a staple for head coach Erica Dambach, appearing in 84 matches and starting 58. She has netted 21 goals and added 21 assists for 63 points in her four seasons in the navy and white.
Just Win
Head coach Erica Dambach is among the elite in women's soccer coaching history. She currently ranks 17th all-time in winning percentage (.710) and 49th all-time in wins (267).
Maryland Breakdown
Record: 0-8-2, 0-8-2
Top Scorer: Eleanor Dale – 2 Goals
Scouting Maryland
McKenna Buismna scored the game's only goal in the third minute as the Golden Gophers held off Maryland 1-0 on Sunday afternoon. Maryland managed seven shots with four on goal, but could not find the back of the net. Goalkeepers Krista Varrichione and Kennedy Tolson combined to make eight saves in the cage for UMD. Playing its second straight game with several starters out, head coach Ray Leone played his ninth different backline combination this season.