The Penn State women’s soccer team dodged some second-half bullets – 14 to be exact – and left Ohio State with a loss against its big ten rival.
OSU (7-4, 2-2 Big Ten) fell to the Nittany Lions, 3-0, Thursday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The Buckeyes fired 14 second-half shots at PSU’s goal, but the visitors were able to outlast OSU.
“You give Penn State an inch and they’re going to find the back of the net. Every mistake that you make, they’re going to capitalize on,” said OSU coach Lori Walker.
Capitalize PSU did.
Nittany Lions redshirt junior forward Tani Costa put PSU up, 1-0, with a goal in the 25th minute. Junior forward Maya Hayes doubled the visitors’ lead just before halftime and Christine Nairn rounded out the scoring with a long-distance blast to put PSU up for good in the 71st minute at 3-0.
Thursday was the first time OSU allowed three goals in a game since Oct. 16, 2011.
OSU senior defender Lauren Granberg said that, despite the lopsided score, the Buckeyes played well.
“I think as a team we came out and played some of the best soccer we’ve played,” Granberg said. “Sometimes it doesn’t go your way.”
OSU’s offensive attack took a blow early in the game when freshman forward Marisa Wolf went down with an injury in the 12th minute. Wolf will be evaluated by a doctor Friday, Walker said.
Additional issues throughout the game included the team not being able to take advantage of opportunities. For the game, OSU outshot PSU, 22-14, but couldn’t find the back of the net.
Walker said that the first step toward the OSU’s next conference match, a home game against Wisconsin, is recovery, both emotionally and physically. Walker also said the Buckeyes should take the lessons from the loss to the Nittany Lions and apply them in the next game.
Granberg agreed, saying there were plenty of positives to take from the loss to PSU.
“Our positioning, our movement off the ball and how dynamic we are is really working for us,” she said. “We can’t let this game deter us from playing the Ohio State soccer that we know how to play.”
Ohio State is scheduled to face off against the Wisconsin Badgers Sunday at 1 p.m. The game is slated to be held at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
