No. 12 Penn State women’s soccer (6-3, 0-2) fell to Northwestern (5-4, 1-1) Thursday night 2-1.

In its first home game since August 29, Penn State dropped its third loss of the season and second in Big Ten play. Despite the Nittany Lions controlling much of the offensive possession, Northwestern’s defense was too much to handle.

How It Happened

Penn State controlled much of the offensive possession early by moving the ball around and not letting Northwestern even touch it. After 10 minutes of action, Northwestern finally caught a break. Kaylee Titus shot a bomb from outside the box that went just out of Katherine Asman’s mitts and into the bottom right corner of the goal to put the Wildcats on the board.

The Nittany Lions continued to control the ball, but their patience on offense wasn’t enough to put one in the net. The Wildcats kept it rolling on the other side of the field with Josie Aulicino sniping one into the top right corner coming off a great feed from Olivia Stone to extend the lead to 2-0.

Despite its patient offense and seven shots in the first half, Penn State headed into the locker room trailing by two.

The second half didn’t start well for the Nittany Lions when Cori Dyke received a yellow card. Moments later, Ally Schlegel had a one-on-one with Mackenzie Wood, but her shot went too wide. Halfway through the second half, Penn State continued to put on the offensive pressure. However, even after back-to-back corners, the team remained scoreless.

Penn State finally got on the board in the 81st minute with a goal from Kerry Abello, the assist coming from Sam Coffey. Momentum clearly shifted to the Nittany Lions, but the Wildcats’ defense held strong to close out the game.

Player Of The Match

Mackenzie Wood | Goalie

Northwestern’s defense played stellar tonight, and that had a lot to do with Mackenzie Wood. Wood recorded four saves, with a few coming in key moments that stopped any momentum from switching. Despite letting a late goal in, Wood made her presence known the whole night.

What’s Next?

Penn State women’s soccer will stay at home to face Ohio State at 3 p.m. on Sunday, September 26.