Sept. 16, 2012
Final Stats
11 Penn State 2, 13 Wisconsin 1
Jeffrey Field • University Park, Pa. |
|
 |
|
1st |
2nd |
Final |
Wisconsin
|
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Penn State |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
|
|
| Scoring |
| PSU |
44:04 |
Rachel Rodriguez (Whitney Church) |
| PSU |
47:36 |
Maya Hayes |
| WIS |
80:33 |
Lexi Peterson |
|
|
|
| Stats at a Glance |
WIS |
PSU |
| Shots |
14 |
19 |
| Shots on Goal |
3 |
8 |
| Saves |
6 |
2 |
| Offsides |
0 |
1 |
| Corner Kicks |
3 |
4 |
| Yellow Cards |
0 |
0 |
| Red Cards |
0 |
0 |
|
|
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.-- Despite a late goal from freshman Lexi Peterson, the No. 13 University of Wisconsin women's soccer team was unable to muster a comeback, and fell to the No. 11 Penn State Nittany Lions, 2-1, at Jeffrey Field on Sunday.
"It's disappointing to give up two goals, the one late in the first half and the second to Maya Hayes, but overall I'm happy the players kept fighting and never hung their heads," head coach Paula Wilkins said. "We tweaked our strategy a little in the second half to try and give them more of a problem and I think we were able to do that to an extent."
Despite being outshot, 19-14, including an 8-3 tally in shots on goal in favor of the Nittany Lions, Wisconsin -- who gave Penn State its last home loss nearly two years ago -- warranted nearly as many scoring opportunities as their counterpart.
| Fast Facts |
| • Freshman Lexi Peterson records first career goal in the 80th minute. |
| • Senior GK Lauren Gunderson comes one save shy of tying career-high (7). |
| • Wisconsin drops just third match to Penn State in Paula Wilkins era. |
|
Senior GK Lauren Gunderson tallied six saves in the losing effort, coming one stop shy of tying her career high while recording just her second loss of the season.
The Middleton, Wisc., native did the majority of the dirty work for the Badgers, posting a pair of impressive saves on a penalty kick in the 38th minute and a shot that would have extended Penn State's lead to 3-0 in the 57th minute of action.
The Badgers (6-2-0) battled back from a 2-0 deficit as Peterson notched her first career goal in the 80th minute. Sophomore Cara Walls received the connecting pass and was dispossessed while fighting for position. The Nittany Lion defender deflected the ball backward to UW's Lexi Peterson who recorded her first career goal from 20 feet out, cutting the Penn State lead to 2-1.
"It was a great effort from Lexi coming from the back and getting that score," Wilkins said. "She changed the game and I think it actually helped the team believe.
"We just weren't able to break down their defense at the end -- we weren't able to get wide and get chances -- and we fell short."
Following Lauren Gunderson's highlight save on a Hayes penalty kick, Raquel Rodriguez got the Nittany Lions on the board on a set piece from Whitney Church in the 44th minute.
Hayes, who made her 2012 debut after winning gold with Team USA at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup earlier this month, opened the second half with the eventual game-winning goal, dribbling into the penalty box and scoring at the far post. That gave the Nittany Lions (6-2-0) the 2-0 advantage in the 47th minute.
"Penn State attacks with a lot of players," Wilkins said. "They bring six and seven players all the time and you have to be able to slow their pressure. At the end of the first half I thought we started to catch onto the flow of the game and we had a couple of chances, even at the end.
"I think we just need to be a little more composed and take advantage of the opportunities we create for ourselves."
Penn State, which has not lost a match in its last 17 conference home openers, possessed the ball well to start the contest and did enough defensively in the latter stages of the match to efficiently hold onto its slim lead.
The Badgers open their Big Ten home schedule on Friday, Sept. 21, against Michigan State during the annual Pac the Mac night at the McClimon Complex. Kickoff is slated for 5 p.m. CT.
"I told the players after the game that the Big Ten isn't won by one game and it isn't lost by one game," Wilkins said. "We're going to take things one match at a time and attack it that way.
"I gave them the example of Penn State last season, when they lost the opening game to us and won the conference, so I just think we have to remain focused and poised and the wins will take care of themselves."
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