COLUMBUS, Ohio – Fourth-seeded and fifth-ranked Penn State women's soccer dropped a heart-wrenching 1-0 decision to the eighth-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes in Big Ten Tournament semifinal action from Lower.com Field on Thursday night.
Senior+ midfielder and team captain Cori Dyke made history in the contest, becoming PSU's all-time career record holder in matches started while tying the school record for appearances following her 104th in both categories. Dyke, a native of Littleton, Colorado has played and started in every Nittany Lion match since the 2019 fall campaign, surpassing the previous program record of 103 starts set by Megan Mills from 1997 to 2001. Dyke additionally tied the record for most matches played in PSU history with Bonnie Young, who was one of Mills' teammates from 1997-01.
Following the result, Penn State drops to 13-2-4 overall on the 2023 season, with their only two losses coming against the two remaining teams vying for the Big Ten Tournament championship. The Blue & White drop to 40-14-6 all-time in the league's postseason event and maintain a 97-52 goal differential in the conference postseason since 1994. Against the Hawkeyes, Penn State now manages a 26-4-1 edge in an all-time series which dates to Iowa's inaugural season in 1997. Iowa improved to 11-4-4 overall and will contend for its second B1G Tournament title in the past four seasons Sunday afternoon against Wisconsin.
In a chippy, back-and-forth affair, the Hawkeyes battled for a narrow 14-11 differential in total shot attempts, with an even slimmer 5-4 tally in shots on goal. Penn State utilized a strong second half to work up a 4-2 differential in the corner kick battle, picking up its 11th win in the statistical category this season while moving to 7-2-2 when out-cornering its challenger. Iowa committed 15 fouls against PSU's 12, closing the book on one of the league's most physical postseason matches this year.
In the box score, redshirt junior forward Kaitlyn MacBean led the way for the Nittany Lions with a trio of shots on goal, while sophomore forward Amelia White tallied the fourth and final PSU shot on goal in the contest. Sophomore midfielder Olivia Borgen was the only other Penn State athlete to book multiple shots, finishing the contest with two. Dyke, along with senior+ defender Kate Wiesner and senior defender Ellie Wheeler each tied their respective career highs in minutes played with 110.
Between the pipes, Second Team All-Big Ten selection and graduate goalkeeper Katherine Asman booked a resilient four-save performance against the Hawkeyes. Asman remains one of the strongest shot-stopping presences in the Big Ten Conference, leading the league in goals-against average while surrendering the fewest goals in the league this season to date with nine. The Roswell, Georgia, native tallied 110 minutes of work in the contest, matching her career high set against Virginia last season. For Iowa, keeper Macy Enneking recorded a four-save shutout in 110 minutes of play.
A relatively uneventful opening half saw both teams return to the locker room without a score on the board. Despite maintaining a majority of the possession through the early going, Penn State was unable to move the ball too far out of their defensive third. The Hawkeyes tallied the first shot of the contest in the fifth minute, and PSU replied with its best scoring chance of the first half on a dangerous right-booted attempt from MacBean. The Excelsior, Minnesota, native beat her defender one-on-one, but a tough angle from the left side of the 18 forced her to take some pace off the ball, allowing Enneking to make the save.
After both teams returned from the deadlocked intermission, the Nittany Lions applied significantly more pressure and began to build consistent attacking opportunities in the Hawkeye final third. Despite Iowa logging the first two chances of the second half, Penn State remained steadfast in its attack and attempted three of the next four shots, including White's on-target attempt in the 79th that was safely corralled by the Iowa keeper. The Blue & White were able to notch a pair of corner kicks in the 87th and 88th minutes, respectively, but PSU was unable to find the back of the net on either chance.
Headed into overtime for the first time since last year's NCAA Tournament, PSU was the far more aggressive team in the first two minutes. The Nittany Lions secured a corner kick and mustered a pair of shots, including an on-target try from MacBean in the first minute-and-a-half of extra time. Penn State's early statistical advantage proved futile moments later, as a shot by Iowa's Sofia Bush clanged off the crossbar, where Kelli McGroarty was there to clean up the rebound into the back of the net off her right foot. The Blue & White were able to muster four more shot attempts in the remaining 15 minutes of overtime, but Iowa ultimately came away with the 1-0 result.
SCORING SUMMARY
95' – Bush clanged a shot off the crossbar, where McGroarty was there to clean up the rebound into the back of the net off her right foot. IOWA 1, PSU 0
UP NEXT
No. 5 Penn State women's soccer awaits its fate in the 2023 NCAA Tournament following the organization's selection show next week. The NCAA Women's Soccer Selection Show will air to a worldwide audience via NCAA.com, with streaming of the event available at 4 p.m. (ET) on Monday, Nov. 6. Stay tuned to Penn State's social media channels for the most up-to-date information regarding opponent, match date and kickoff times.
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Visit GoPSUSports.com for more information on Penn State women's soccer. Fans can keep up to date with the Nittany Lion women's soccer team on X and Instagram @PennStateWSOC, in addition to the team's Facebook page at /PSUWomensSoccer.
The 30th Season of Penn State women's soccer is presented by the Smeal College of Business.
