Oct. 24, 2015
Columbus, Ohio
Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Field at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium
No. 10 Penn State 2 (12-3-2, 7-2-1 B1G), Ohio State 1 (9-5-3, 4-4-2 B1G)
Attendance: 589
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s soccer team fell to No. 10 Penn State, 2-1, on a windy and rainy Saturday night at Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Field at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. With the loss, the Buckeyes drop to 9-5-3 overall, 4-4-2 in the Big Ten, while the Nittany Lions improve to 12-3-2, 7-2-1 in conference play.
“Penn State capitalized on a couple of our mistakes in the first half,” Lori Walker, Ohio State head coach, said. “A monsoon would describe what’s going on here with the rain and wind coming from the south. Both teams benefitted from that and it certainly helped us in the second half. I’m really proud of the effort our team displayed after being down 2-0 at the half and fighting their way back. Good things will fall our way if we can continue to play that way going forward.”
Penn State took the early lead in the eighth minute when Frannie Crouse played a through ball down the middle of the Buckeye defense and Megan Schafer finished from 12 yards on the break past Ohio State goalkeeper Jillian McVicker for the 1-0 Nittany Lion advantage.
Schafer almost doubled the Penn State lead in the 17th minute when she possessed outside the top of the box, turned and fired a shot that drilled the underside of the crossbar and was cleared away.
Ohio State continued to press forward into the wind and rain the rest of the half but was unable to connect in the final third before the Nittany Lions made it 2-0 in the 39th minute. Marissa Sheva snuck through to pick off a Buckeye pass in the midfield before finishing inside the left post from 15 yards to double the Penn State lead heading into the break.
Penn State held an 8-2 lead in shots, including 5-0 on goal, over the first 45 minutes.
The Nittany Lions had another chance in the 54th minute when Charlotte Williams possessed in the center of the box off a corner but Devon Kerr, who came on in goal for the Buckeyes to start the second half, was able to make the diving save on the shot from 12 yards.
Nichelle Prince almost cut the Penn State lead in half in the 67th minute but her volley from 10 yards off a Michela Paradiso cross from the left wing narrowly missed wide left.
Ohio State then made it a 2-1 game in the 81st minute when Kylie Knight played a long ball over the Penn State defense to a streaking Lindsay Agnew, who beat Penn State goalkeeper Britt Eckerstrom from eight yards to cut the lead in half.
The Nittany Lions hit the Buckeyes with a counter in the 87th minute as Williams broke free behind the Buckeye defense but Kerr again came out to make the diving save.
Nikki Walts had an opportunity to equalize in the final minute but her attempt to curl a free kick from 20 yards near post sailed into the arms of Eckerstrom as the Nittany Lions came away with the win.
For the game, Penn State held a 15-7 advantage in shots, including 9-2 on frame.
Ohio State closes out the regular season when it hosts Michigan State on Senior Day at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
