No. 9 Penn State women’s soccer (7-1-1) improved its unbeaten run to eight straight against Iowa (1-7-1) 1-0 on Thursday evening in Iowa City.

Ally Schlegel’s first half goal was enough to beat the Hawkeyes, who drop to 13th spot in the Big Ten.

How It Happened

Penn State took no time to impose its dominance in Iowa City. The Nittany Lions controlled the possession from kickoff, although Iowa did have an early shot in the ninth minute.

The sustained possession from the favorites totally pinned Iowa into its own half.

Once they were able to spring a counter-attack, the Hawkeye typically consisted of just one forward on the whole Penn State backline. This led to Penn State continuously pounding the 18-yard box, searching for weaknesses.

It wasn’t a defensive mistake that finally resulted in the Nittany Lions breakthrough. In the 21st minute, a beautiful link up play found Ally Schlegel in the middle of the box. As has now become custom, the pink headband did what it did best, giving Penn State a 1-0 lead.

The video doesn’t do the link-up play justice, although Schlegel’s finish was good for her seventh of the season.

Another look at @allyschlegel34's goal on a fantastic ball from @frankiet01!#WeAre #PSWS pic.twitter.com/8TgZtV4X88

— Penn State Women’s Soccer (@PennStateWSOC) March 25, 2021

The Nittany Lions didn’t let down their pressure following the goal. Nothing tricked Macy Enneking, although another nice passing play led to a good chance from Kristin Schnurr late in the half.

As much as Penn State dominated in the first 45 minutes, the finishing wasn’t as clinical as Erica Dambach may have hoped. Schlegel’s goal was the only difference heading into the locker rooms.

The second half began with a flurry from both teams. Schlegel was put through in behind the Iowa defense in just the 49th minute, but her shot went uncharacteristically straight at the goalie. Iowa responded with its best chance of the match, but just missed on a free kick from range.

Minutes later, Rachel Wasserman had the Hawkeye defense on her hip, and a fantastic effort on the run was just barely thwarted by Enneking.

The Nittany Lions thought they may have found the second goal in the 63rd minute, but the offense was flagged offside. Iowa did get more into the game as the half wore on 1-0, but nothing was too troubling for Asman or the defense.

The middle of the second half seemed like more of a chess match, with both teams looking to get out on the counter.

After a long stretch of dull play, Iowa had its best shot to equalize with just 9:31 to go. Josie Durr found an opening on the left side, and Asman was forced to put her body in front of a close-range shot to keep the Nittany Lions’ lead.

At this point in the match, Penn State should have had a larger lead. Iowa didn’t look dangerous, much like a team that has only scored two goals all season long. With five minutes to go, Ellie Wheeler made a good run down the left flank and set up Frankie Tagliaferri, but the senior hit a slow roller right to Enneking.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Nittany Lions escaped the midwest with the result to improve to 22 points. No. 19 Rutgers tied Nebraska 0-0, meaning Penn State now solely leads the Big Ten.

Woman Of The Match

Frankie Tagliaferri| Senior |Attacking Mid

It wasn’t a pretty performance for any Nittany Lion, but Frankie Tagliaferri did a good job moving the ball in the attacking half. Iowa’s defense remained stout for much of the match, but Tagliaferri’s through-ball to Ally Schlegel was the only play that undid the Hawkeyes.

What’s Next

Penn State plays its last away game of the regular season on Sunday in Lincoln. The Nittany Lions will take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers at 12:35 p.m., with the match streamed on BTN+.