UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Redshirt sophomore Ally Schlegel scored her Big Ten leading tenth and eleventh goals in Penn State's 3-1 win over Indiana on Sunday afternoon. With Penn State winning its 10th game on Sunday, the Nittany Lions have double digit wins in all 27 seasons in program history. The Nittany Lions improved to 27-1-2 all-time against Indiana with Sunday's win.
Penn State (10-1-1, 9-1-1) will now host the Big Ten tournament semifinal matchups at Jeffrey Field on Thursday, April 15.
How it Happened
- Indiana recorded the first two shots of the match, testing Nittany Lions goalkeeper Katherine Asman early. Asman made both saves to keep the Hoosiers off the scoreboard.
- In the 12th minute, Payton Linnehan sent a long pass ahead to Schlegel. Schlegel took one touch to create space and blasted her shot from outside of the box past the outstretched arms of the Indiana keeper to give Penn State a 1-0 lead.
- The Hoosiers continued to press the Nittany Lions back line as they looked for the equalizer. Indiana outshot Penn State 7-6 in the first half but couldn't find the back of the net as Asman made three saves in the first 45 minutes of action.
- Just 12 second before the half ended, Kristin Schnurr and Elle Kershner teamed up to find an open Frankie Tagliaferri inside the 18 and buried her shot perfectly inside of the far post to make it 2-0 Nittany Lions.
- Out of the half, Linnehan and Tagliaferri had two tremendous opportunities to score but were denied by the Indiana keeper.
- In the 60th minute, Sam Coffey played the ball into space for Rachel Wasserman. Wasserman stretched the Indiana defense and played Schlegel into the box. Schlegel sidestepped the Hoosiers goalie and slotted her shot into the back of the net to give Penn State a three-goal advantage.
- Indiana scored in the 73rd minute to make it 3-1 with 17 minutes to play. The goal by Indiana ended Penn State's streak of 421 minutes without allowing a goal.
- The Nittany Lions defense held firm for the final 17 minutes of action to keep Penn State ahead and send the program to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.
- Penn State will play Iowa on Thursday in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal. The Nittany Lions previously defeated the Hawkeyes 1-0 on March 25 in Iowa City.
Notes
- Ally Schlegel has scored eight goals in the last six games for Penn State, including four in the last two matches. Schlegel now has 24 goals in 37 matches in her career.
- Frankie Tagliaferri has scored in three straight games following her goal on Sunday. This is the second time this season she has scored in three consecutive games.
- Sam Coffey registered her third straight game with an assist in Sunday's win. Coffey now has 43 assists in her collegiate career. She is the only player in college soccer with 40 or more assists and is the NCAA Division I active leader in points with 111.