UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 4 Penn State women's soccer coupled a dominant defensive outing with a late set piece score from senior+ midfielder Cori Dyke, culminating in a 1-0 victory Sunday afternoon on Jeffrey Field over the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
The Nittany Lions maintain their lofty reputation as one of just four programs in Division I women's soccer to never trail in a match this season, joining Indiana, Texas Tech and Dartmouth. PSU's defensive dominance on Jeffrey Field continued in the win, with the Nittany Lions publishing their seventh home shutout of the season, resulting in a 22-1 goal differential in University Park. PSU climbed to 9-0-1 overall on the year and 3-0 in Big Ten Conference competition, the program's best league start since the 2017 campaign, while Nebraska dropped to 7-2-2 overall and 1-1-1 in B1G play. Penn State's nine consecutive victories ensured the continuation of the Nittany Lions' longest win streak since 2019.
In the 12th all-time meeting between the two programs, Penn State picked up its seventh victory and extended its lead in the series to 7-3-2 overall. The Nittany Lions have been victorious in three of the last four outings against the Huskers, with the lone blemish coming on the road in Lincoln last year. Additionally, Penn State picked up its first win over Nebraska since the COVID-adjusted 2020-21 spring season and improved to 4-1 in contests played against the Huskers on Jeffrey Field.
The Cornhuskers and Nittany Lions played a relatively even match across the board, with both teams having to fight through intense defensive pressure to generate offensive opportunities. Nebraska finished the afternoon's contest with a slim lead on the shot chart, outpacing the Blue & White by a narrow 16-13 edge overall and a 5-3 margin in terms of shots on goal. The Huskers also took home a narrow edge in the corner kick battle, leading the category by a 5-4 tally. Sunday's result saw the Nittany Lions pick up a win while losing the corner kick contest for the first time in 2023.
On an individual basis, Penn State saw nine different players record shots in the match, highlighted by a team-high three attempts from senior defender Eva Alonso. Dyke mustered her third goal of the 2023 campaign on her only shot in the match, while Alonso and senior+ defender Kate Wiesner each logged assists on Dyke's match-winning strike. The Littleton, Colorado, native published just the seventh goal of her collegiate career, with the score going down as her second career match-winner.
In what proved to be her most significant outing between the pipes for the Nittany Lions this season, graduate goalkeeper Katherine Asman notched a five-save shutout in 90 minutes of work. Her signature save of the 2023 season came with less than 13 minutes in the contest, as Nebraska sophomore midfielder Saide Waite unleashed a shot toward the center of the goal from just 10 yards out that was punched away by the Penn State veteran netminder. The Roswell, Georgia, native logged her 23rd career shutout and the fifth of her graduate campaign in Happy Valley. For Nebraska, senior keeper Sami Hauk logged a pair of saves and allowed the only score of the contest in her 90-minute showing.
Against one of the most notorious high-pressing defenses in the Big Ten, Penn State battled with the Cornhuskers early on to establish consistent possession. Both teams traded attacking chances in the early going, but stalwart efforts by both backlines served as hindrances against the mounting pressure. PSU tallied the first two attempts of the afternoon in the match's first eight minutes, but both attempts sailed off target. National scoring leader and Cornhusker senior forward Eleanor Dale put her name on the box score in the 10th, having her shot attempt blocked by a well-positioned Nittany Lion adversary.
Asman's first significant test of the match came in the 12th minute of work, with the Cornhuskers winning a corner and Waite taking her first crack at the Nittany Lions' last line of defense. PSU's keeper corralled the Nebraska chance, and the back-and-forth play continued as the half wore on. Both squads continued to test the opposing keepers to no avail, and some chippy play resulted in double yellow cards being issued to a Nebraska fielder and the PSU bench. Although the Blue & White managed to force a pair of corner kicks in the final 90 seconds of the frame, both squads returned to the locker room knotted at nil.
Penn State and Nebraska returned to the rain-soaked pitch of Jeffrey Field for the final 45 and picked up right where they left off, with each team forcing physical play on both sides of the field. PSU's back line weathered an intense opening from the Cornhusker attack, including three shots from Dale and two more from junior midfielder Sarah Weber, but Nebraska left the early portion of the second stanza empty-handed. In response, Penn State utilized a five-minute span that included four shots and a pair of corner kicks to test Nebraska's defensive patience, but none of the Nittany Lion tries entered Hauk's jurisdiction.
With the match entering its final 15 minutes, Penn State began seeking the lid-lifting score in desperation with the hopes of extending the program's best start to a season since 2005. The magic began in the 76th, as Asman turned away what would have been a guaranteed Cornhusker score from Waite. PSU gathered itself after the Nebraska chance and charged back down the pitch, with senior forward Elle Kershner taking command of the possession around 35 yards out. Kershner took a few dribbles and won a gritty foul call against Cornhusker junior midfielder Haley Peterson.
Alonso, Wiesner and Dyke formed a triangle around the ball on the resulting free kick approximately 20 yards away from the goal mouth towards the lefthand side of the penalty area. Alonso shoveled a pass to Wiesner at the left edge of the penalty arc, and Wiesner moved the ball uninhibited towards Dyke around three yards back. The senior+ team captain unleashed 81 minutes of frustration on the soccer ball and pelted the match-winning score into the top right corner of the Nebraska goal. PSU's defense buckled down for the remainder of the contest and came away with a gritty 1-0 result.
SCORING SUMMARY
81' – Kershner drew a key foul at the very edge of the penalty area towards the left side of the box. Alonso, Wiesner and Dyke formed a triangle around the ball on the resulting free kick, with Alonso and Wiesner shoveling the ball back to Dyke around 22 yards out. Dyke unloaded on the soccer ball and found the top right corner of the net for the score. PSU 1, NEB 0
UP NEXT
No. 4 Penn State women's soccer prepares for its first extended road test of the 2023 campaign, as the Nittany Lions visit the Great Lakes State to challenge the Michigan Wolverines on Thursday, Sept. 28. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. (ET), with streaming available to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+.
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.
The 30th Season of Penn State women's soccer is presented by the Smeal College of Business.
