Penn State women’s soccer (6-6-1) fell to Rutgers (8-2-1) 3-2 in double overtime match at Jeffrey Field on Thursday.

Penn State played its first game at home after two games on the road. The Nittany Lions got off to a slow start, but they were able to get some plays working later in the half to earn a goal. However, Rutgers proved to be a second-half team and scored two goals, but Penn State was able to find a last minute equalizer to send the game into overtime.

The first overtime was dominated by Penn State but it couldn’t find the back of the net, and Rutgers scored the golden goal off of a penalty kick in the second overtime period.

How It Happened

Within 15 minutes of the match, rain started pouring down onto Jeffrey Field and kept coming down sending players sliding around the field.

Penn State got its first big chance of the game in the 17th minute. Frankie Tagliaferri took a shot at the center of the goal, but it was stopped by Meagan McClelland after a nice passing move by the Nittany Lions.

A few minutes later, Penn State found itself under some pressure from the Scarlet Knights’ back line, but Ally Schlegel sent the ball up to Kerry Abello, who was able to get around McClelland and put the ball in the back of the night to give the Nittany Lions a 1-0 lead.

There was minimal action and a lot of back-and-forth passing between the teams. Penn State held the majority of possession but just couldn’t get anything else going. The half ended with Penn State up by a goal.

In the 62nd minute, Rutgers’ Brittany LaPlant made a beautiful turn in the box and beat Amanda Dennis to equalize for her team.

Abello took the ball down the field in the 74th minute and was one-on-one with a Scarlet Knight defender. She was able to press in towards the goal and was able to chip it across the goalmouth, but none of her teammates were at the back post to guide the ball into the net.

In the 84th minute, Rutgers’ Jenna Sayers, who had only been substituted onto the pitch three minutes earlier, got a breakaway. Dennis came off her line, which allowed Sayers to boot it past her to give Rutgers the lead 2-1.

Penn State quickly responded with an equalizer in the 87th minute. Ali Schlegel whipped the ball into the area before Abello tied the game at 2-2 with her second goal of the match. After three minutes of desperation from both sides, neither could make anything happen before the full-time whistle, so the game went into overtime.

The first overtime was unable to give either team the golden goal and the match continued into the second overtime at 2 goals a piece.

After Rutgers earned a corner kick, a foul was called against Penn State’s Tagliaferri for pushing a Rutgers player in the box. This gave Rutgers a penalty kick, which was taken by Amirah Ali. Ali deposited the ball into the top left corner to score the golden goal

Player of the Match

Payton Linnehan | Freshman | Midfielder

Linnehan got one of her first home starts since the start of the season, and she made tons of important runs down the wings. She also showed a different side of her game by beating out multiple defenders and going on the attack.

What’s Next?

Penn State will head to Columbus to take Ohio State University (3-6-1) at 2 p.m. Sunday, October 6.