UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The #11 Penn State women's soccer is set to play Michigan for the first time since their epic showdown in the Big Ten Tournament championship game in 2019. The Nittany Lions and Wolverines will play on the Big Ten Network at 12:00 p.m. ET at Jeffrey Field.
In that last matchup, Payton Linnehan scored in overtime to give Penn State a 2-1 win and the eight Big Ten Tournament title in program history.
Game Information
- Date: Sunday, March 21, 2021 | Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
- Location: University Park, Pa. | Venue: Jeffrey Field
- Live Stats
- Series Record: PSU 24-5-7
Penn State Breakdown
Record: 5-1-1, 5-1-1
Top Scorers: Sam Coffey, Ally Schlegel – 5 Goals, Frankie Tagliaferri – 3 goals
Top Assists: Coffey – 4 Assists, Schlegel, Tagliaferri and Wasserman – 3 Assists
Nittany Lions Last Time Out
- On a cold and rainy night in the Nittany Lions return to Jeffrey Field, the Penn State offense looked to break the stingy Golden Gophers defense which had only allowed three goals through their first six games of the season.
- In the 19th minute, Frankie Tagliaferri sent a ball behind the Gophers defense and Schlegel collected the pass at her feet and buried her shot into the right corner of the net to put the Nittany Lions up 1-0.
- Just four minutes later, Schlegel scored for the fifth time in the season as Tagliaferri and Ellie Wheeler both assisted on the goal to give Penn State a 2-0 cushion.
- The Nittany Lions led 2-0 at the half.
- In the second stanza, the Nittany Lions added a third goal in the 74th minute. Following a foul by the Gophers just outside the box, Sam Coffey buried a free kick into the back of the net to give the Nittany Lions a 3-0 lead.
- The Penn State defense withstood 15 shots from Minnesota in the second half. Despite the 15 shots from Minnesota, only three were on goal and Katherine Asman made all three saves.
- Sam Coffey and Ally Schlegel are now tied for the team lead with five goals. Coffey added an assist in the game and leads PSU with 14 points and four assists.
- Schlegel picked up her first game-winning of the season after four game-winning goals in her freshman season.
- Katherine Asman made four saves in her second shutout of the season.
- Ellie Wheeler picked up the first point of her Nittany Lion career with her first assist of the season.
Top of the Mountain
Senior captain Sam Coffey ranks as the NCAA Division I active leader in points and assists. Coffey currently has 104 points and 38 assists in her career.
Stat Leaders
The Nittany Lions top the following stat categories in the Big Ten Conference:
Team
Points – 52 (1st)
Goals – 18 (1st)
Assists – 16 (1st)
Individual
Game-Winning Goals – Sam Coffey – 3 (1st)
Points – Sam Coffey – 14 (1st)
Goals – Sam Coffey – 5 (T-1st)
Assists – Sam Coffey – 4 (1st)
Schel-GOAL
Redshirt sophomore Ally Schlegel has picked up right where she left off during the fall of 2019. Schlegel tied for the Big Ten lead with 13 goals last season and led the conference with 33 points.
Schlegel currently tied for the team lead with five goals, second in points and tied for second with three assists.
Schlegel is the third member of her immediate family to play Division I sports. Her father Mike and her brother Drew both played football at Kentucky. Drew played as a graduate transfer at Cal during the season last fall.
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 (.708) and 49th all-time in wins (264). Dambach has captured 10 Big Ten regular season titles, 4 Big Ten tournament titles and the 2015 national title and an Olympic gold medal.
Michigan Breakdown
Record: 4-1-2, 4-1-2
Top Scorer: Sammi Woods, Nicki Hernandez – 4 goals
Scouting Michigan
Michigan is coming off a 4-0 win over Maryland on Thursday afternoon. The Wolverines scored three goals in the second half to secure the win. Michigan earned its third shutout of the season. Sammi Woods had a career-best five points with two goals and one assist. Lily Farkas scored her first collegiate goal in the win.