LINCOLN, Neb. – Senior defender Mieke Schiemann clobbered a free kick from just outside the penalty area in the 16th minute, powering the No. 15 Penn State women’s soccer team to a solid 1-0 victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers in a physical affair Sunday afternoon from Hibner Stadium.
Schiemann, a native of Berlin, Germany, turned in a dominant individual effort against the Cornhuskers highlighted by her third score of the 2024 campaign. The veteran center back has been a significant set piece threat for the Nittany Lions this season, contributing a pair of penalty kick goals prior to Sunday’s dominant strike in the first half against the Cornhuskers. On the defensive side of things, Schiemann tallied 90 minutes of work for the Blue & White on the back line, her seventh complete-match showing of the year. Schiemann was instrumental in holding Nebraska’s high-powered offense without a goal for just the fifth time this year.
The Blue & White returned to their winning ways following their one-goal victory over the Cornhuskers, rising to 9-3-1 overall and 3-2 against Big Ten Conference competition this season, putting an end to a two-match losing skid. In defeat, the defending 2023 Big Ten regular season co-champions in Nebraska drop to 4-7 overall and 1-4 against B1G competitors. The Nittany Lions extended their lead over the Cornhuskers in the still burgeoning conference rivalry, with Penn State improving to 8-3-2 overall against Nebraska since the first all-time meeting in 2011 when the institution joined the Big Ten.
One of the most intense physical matchups of the season saw the Blue & White weather the hometown crowd and an effective Nebraska attack en route to their third B1G win of the campaign. Nebraska took the win on the shot chart Sunday afternoon, making 17 attempts at the Nittany Lion net compared to just seven shots from PSU. In terms of on-target shots, however, Penn State edged the home side by a narrow 5-4 tally. Penn State played its opponent even in the corner kick competition yet again, matching the Huskers 4-for-4 in those opportunities. Fouls rained down on both sides of the pitch, with the sides combining for 24 whistles with one yellow card assessed in yet another gritty Nebraska-Penn State affair.
Redshirt junior midfielder Julia Raich earned the first start of her collegiate career on Sunday after having previously appeared in 38 matches off the pine. Raich, a native of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, contributed her first assist of the year and her third point overall, earning credit for a dish on Schiemann’s set-piece spectacle. Redshirt senior midfielder Olivia Damico tallied her second assist of the 2024 campaign, joining Raich in securing a helper on Schiemann’s goal. Schiemann finished tied for the team-high in total shots and shots on goal alongside senior midfielder Jordan Fusco, with both student-athletes placing a pair of opportunities on frame. Depth was a key contributing factor to the Nittany Lion result, with 19 student-athletes seeing the pitch for PSU opposed to just 15 for the Cornhuskers.
Between the pipes, redshirt junior goalkeeper Amanda Poorbaugh returned to her dominant ways for the Blue & White, tallying her sixth individual shutout of the year and her eighth victory to improve to 8-3-1 overall. Poorbaugh faced off against 17 shots from the Cornhuskers, just one shot short of her career high against Michigan earlier this year, but only needed to make a trio of saves to maintain the clean sheet for PSU. An additional team save was credited to redshirt sophomore defender Kayleigh Herr on a clearance for the Nittany Lions, maintaining the shutout for Penn State. Nebraska returned to their original starting keeper in senior goalkeeper Samantha Hauk, who registered four saves against a single goal allowed over her 90 minutes of effort.
The early moments of the match saw both teams settle into solid attacking opportunities, with Nebraska logging three of the match’s first four shot attempts. Penn State was able to notch the first shot on frame, however, with Fusco working into a dangerous spot around 10 yards out from the goal, firing a right-footed attempt directly at Hauk for a quick Cornhusker save. Chippy play early on saw both teams secure free kick opportunities across the pitch, and Nebraska was able to cook up a few off-target shot opportunities on the offensive end, but Penn State weathered the early storm and remained opportunistic to find an ice-breaker.
The match broke PSU’s way in the 16th minute of play, as junior forward Amelia White took possession of the ball and made a furious run toward the Cornhusker penalty box. Faced with a dangerous scoring chance, Nebraska’s defense opted to foul White just outside the 18 and provided the Blue & White with a precarious free kick opportunity. Penn State looked to capitalize on the premium free kick position, with a trio of Nittany Lions standing over the ball. Damico and Raich shifted the ball from side to side, leaving it in position for Schiemann to place a clinical right-booted blast into the top right corner of the goal to open the scoring for the Blue & White. PSU remained largely in control of the possession for the remainder of the half, and both sides returned to the dressing room with the Nittany Lions boasting a 1-0 advantage.
Nebraska and Penn State returned to the pitch following the halftime intermission, with the Cornhuskers looking desperate to even the score in the early moments of the second frame. The Huskers clocked the first four shot attempts of the second half of play, with the first Nebraska attempt of the frame logging credit as a save for Poorbaugh. Another shot on target from Fusco in the 52nd minute stymied the early Cornhusker momentum and brought he Blue & White back under control. Aided by two additional saves from Poorbaugh and a solid showing down the stretch from the Nittany Lion back line, Penn State escaped its Sunday showdown in America’s heartland with a 1-0 victory over Nebraska.
SCORING SUMMARY
16’ – White engaged in a spectacular run through the center of the Cornhusker defense and drew a foul just on the edge of the 18. Penn State looked to capitalize on the premium free kick position, with a trio of Nittany Lions standing over the ball. Damico and Raich shifted the ball from side to side, leaving it in position for Schiemann to place a clinical right-booted blast into the top right corner of the goal to open the scoring for the Blue & White. PSU 1, NEB 0
UP NEXT
No. 15 Penn State women's soccer returns home to Happy Valley next Friday, October 4, as the Nittany Lions get set to test the league-leading Rutgers Scarlet Knights in a 5 p.m. (ET) fixture from Jeffrey Field. The match precedes a PSU men's soccer contest against the UCLA Bruins that will kick off at 8 p.m. (ET). Both matches of the doubleheader will stream live to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+ and the B1G+ app.
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.