Oct. 17, 2013
University Park, Pa.
Jeffrey Field
No. 17 Penn State 4 (11-3-1, 5-2-0 Big Ten); Ohio State 2 (8-4-3, 2-3-2 Big Ten)
Attendance: 567
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Ohio State women’s soccer team fell at No. 17 Penn State, 4-2, Thursday afternoon at Jeffrey Field. With the loss, the Buckeyes drop to 8-4-3, 2-3-2 in the Big Ten, while the Nittany Lions improve to 11-3-1, 5-2-0 in conference play.
“You can’t spot Penn State two goals,” Ohio State head coach Lori Walker said. “We created two of their goals out of our own defensive mistakes so we have to take responsibility for that but we did a much better job in the second half responding to the physical presence of Penn State. We showed some resiliency winning some tackles and with a couple quality goals but it was not enough in the end.”
Penn State jumped out to the early lead in the sixth minute when Mallory Weber dribbled down the left wing and found a sliding Taylor Schram who finished from inside the six-yard box for a 1-0 advantage.
Ohio State tallied a chance in the 16th minute when Megan Fuller played a free kick from just inside midfield and found Morgan Wolcott eight yards out at the far post but her header narrowly missed wide right.
Three minutes later, Michela Paradiso flicked a header to Nichelle Prince who beat a Penn State defender and fired a shot with her left foot from 10 yards but Nittany Lion goalkeeper Britt Eckerstrom deflected the shot wide with a leaping save.
Penn State then added to its lead in the 34th minute when Weber played a cross into the box from the right wing that deflected off a Ohio State defender Marisa Wolf for a 2-0 lead.
Less than four minutes later, Alexis Degler played a ball from the right wing into Nichelle Prince at the top of the box. Prince took one dribble and hit a right-footed shot toward the far post to beat Eckerstrom and cut the Penn State lead to 2-1.
The teams went into the break with Penn State up 2-1. The Nittany Lions held a 5-3 lead in shots, 4-2 on goal over the first 45 minutes.
Prince had a chance in the 53rd minute when she broke free on the right wing but her shot in a one-on-one opportunity with Eckerstrom deflected off the far post and was cleared out for a corner.
On the ensuing corner, Danica Wu found Wolcott eight yards out and the redshirt freshman flicked a header inside the far post and the Buckeyes had battled back to knot the game at 2-2.
However, Penn State responded just over a minute later when Maya Hayes stole a Buckeye pass just outside the top of the box and finished off the Buckeye miscue into an empty net for a 3-2 advantage.
The Nittany Lions tacked on another in the 58th minute when a shot by Schram caromed off the crossbar and to an open Hayes who finished from six yards to push the lead to 4-2.
Ohio State had a chance to cut into the lead in the 83rd minute when Paradiso gathered a loose ball inside the box but her shot from six yards sailed over the crossbar as Penn State picked up the victory.
For the game, Penn State held a narrow 10-9 lead in shots, 7-6 on goal, and an 8-5 advantage in corners.
Ohio State returns home to face Northwestern on Senior Day at noon Sunday.
