Sept. 22, 2017
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
IOWA CITY, Iowa - A goal from midfielder Salina Williford (Wayne, Pa.) in the 72nd minute and a three-save outing from goalkeeper Rose Chandler (Atlanta, Ga.) helped the No. 7 Penn State women's soccer team tally a 1-0 victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes Friday night at the Iowa Soccer Complex.
With the win, Penn State improves to 7-2-0 on the year and 3-0-0 in Big Ten action, while Iowa falls to 5-3-0 overall and 0-1-0 in conference play.
The two teams went into halftime with the score tied at 0-0 and shot attempts in favor of Penn State, 5-4. Chandler recorded all three of her saves on the evening during the first 45 minutes of action.
The Blue & White came out of the halftime break outshooting the Hawkeyes, 6-0, in the first 19 minutes of the second half, but the Nittany Lions were unable to get past the Iowa defense.
At 70:12, the Nittany Lions made three subs, including Williford. After Williford checked in for the second time on the night in the 71st minute, it took 67 seconds for Williford to put the Nittany Lions in front.
On the goal, Frannie Crouse (Greensburg, Pa.) brought the ball up the right side of the field, and when she got near the endline, Crouse made a move to get separation from an Iowa defender and then she swung the ball into the box to Williford from just outside the penalty area. Williford then headed the ball past Iowa goalkeeper Claire Graves from eight yards out and into the right side of the net for the Nittany Lion tally.
Looking for the game-tying goal, the Hawkeyes fired three shot attempts during the final 10 minutes of regulation, but were unable to tally a shot on goal.
The Nittany Lions continue their Midwest road trip on Sunday, Sept. 24, at Nebraska. The match is slated for a 2 p.m. (EDT) start at Hibner Stadium.
NOTES: Penn State leads the all-time series against Iowa, 23-2-0…The Nittany Lions outshot the Hawkeyes, 13-8…Penn State improves to 190-27-13 all-time in Big Ten conference matches…Seven different Nittany Lions have scored a game-winning goal this season…Penn State has tallied three-straight shutouts and five overall this season…Williford's game-winning goal Friday night was the third of her career…Crouse netted her 85th career point with the assist on the Williford goal.