Indiana women’s soccer got a crucial three points against a team that has had their number over the years, the Penn State Nittany Lions, with a 2-1 win on Sunday afternoon.
Going into the game, IU players knew they needed a win to stay alive for a spot in the Big Ten tournament.
Neither the Hoosiers (5-5-6, 2-3-5) nor the Nittany Lions (8-6-3, 4-4-2) could get anything going in the first half, with both teams struggling to get good chances. They combined for seven shots on goal in the half, but none of those were much of a threat.
After halftime, the Hoosiers turned urgency into results, with two goals in 10 minutes. First it was sophomore Bella Haggerty, scoring the first goal of her career on a header. The goal came off a well struck corner from Maggie Ledwith, and gave the Hoosiers a 1-0 lead in the 58th minute.
Then in the 67th minute, junior Paige Droner scored in a turnaround shot near the top of the box to extend the Indiana lead to 2-0.
“Going into this game, we all really wanted to fight for each other… and it feels so good to be able to score the second goal,” Droner said postgame about her and the team’s performance.
Indiana’s defense shined all day, as it has done for most of this season. They were able to keep the usually high scoring Penn State team off the board for a majority of the game. Control of the ball was key, as IU was able to keep possession for a majority of the game, limiting Penn State’s chances.
That didn’t last the whole 90 minutes however, as Penn State was able to pull one back through Julia Raich in the 88th minute.
The final two minutes were frantic, with Penn State desperately searching for an equalizer, but the IU defense held, and the Hoosiers snatched a crucial three points.
It was only the second time in series history that IU has beaten Penn State, with PSU now holding a 30-2-3 advantage. The last and only other time IU defeated PSU was in 1996 in the Big Ten tournament, meaning this is the only time the Hoosiers have beat Penn State in the regular season.
The outlook for IU to make the Big Ten Tournament isn’t ideal — the Hoosiers sit in 13th with 11 points. They will need to make it to 10th on the final matchday next Sunday. Ahead of IU is Nebraska and Michigan, tied for 11th with 12 points, and USC, in 10th with 13 points. The Hoosiers will need all three of those teams to drop points on the final matchday, along with IU getting a win at home against Iowa.
The Hoosiers take on the Hawkeyes on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Bill Armstrong Stadium, and broadcast on Big Ten Plus.
