UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 4 Penn State women's soccer team (10-2-1, 9-1-1) fell 1-0 to the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal match. Iowa's goal in the 48th minute was enough to lift the Hawkeyes past Penn State.
Iowa will play the winner of Wisconsin and Rutgers in the Big Ten Tournament championship game.
How It Happened
Iowa had the first chance of the match, sending a shot on net in the third minute of action but Kathrine Asman was there to make the save.
The Nittany Lions followed with three shots in the next two minutes as they attempted to take the lead, but none found the mark.
Penn State's continued to push the envelope, tallying a shot in the 12th minute and two more in the 13th.
Asman kept the match knotted at 0-0 by making two great saves in the 14th minute. Iowa took advantage of a Nittany Lion turnover but Asman came off her line to make the pair of saves.
Penn State nearly took the lead right before the half as Elle Kershner sent a shot on net but the Hawkeyes keeper stepped in front of the shot to save Kershner's shot.
Three minutes into the second half, Iowa's Meike Ingles scored her third goal of the season to give the Hawkeyes a 1-0 lead.
Penn State looked to tie the match in the 52nd minute on a shot by Rachel Wasserman. Wasserman's left-footed shot was destined for the goal, but an Iowa defender headed the shot off the line to keep Iowa in front.
The Nittany Lions kept up the offensive intensity as they looked for the equalizer. In the 61st minute, Payton Linnehan was taken down and a second yellow card was assessed to the Iowa defender, resulting in a red car and the Hawkeyes would play with 10 players for the remainder of the game.
Penn State looked to take advantage of this, turning up the offensive intensity. Frankie Tagliaferri sent a blast on net in the 69th minute. Tagliaferri had found space and send the shot wide of the Hawkeye keeper. An Iowa defender stepped in front of the shot right on the goal line and the Hawkeyes cleared the ball from danger.
The Nittany Lions offensive attack tallied 17 shots in the second half with nine on goal. Penn State also had seven corners in the half as they attempted to tie the match.
Despite the furious effort by Penn State, the Nittany Lions could not tie the match. Penn State had one final chance with 30 seconds to play in the game, a header by Eva Alonso went just over the crossbar and Iowa held on for a 1-0 win.