No. 8 Penn State women’s soccer (5-1-1, 1-1-0 Big Ten) tied Nebraska (5-1-3, 1-1) on Thursday night at Jeffrey Field. It was the first of two games on the schedule for the Nittany Lions this week.

How It Happened

Penn State started with three throw-ins after several possession changes in the first minute of the match. An aggressive one-on-one battleby midfield followed in the 6th minute, resulting in a foul on Nebraska’s Ava Makovicka. Hannah Jordan missed the free kick.

Quick footwork from Nebraska’s midfielders forced the Nittany Lions to keep up, and they did so by answering back with more intensity and getting Nebraska’s Sadie Waite to foul. Molly Martin had the free kick, but Burger’s shot attempt was blocked. Kaitlyn MacBean’s rebound missed, hitting the bottom of the net.

In the 16th minute, Nebraska’s Mila Brach tallied another foul for the Cornhuskers, awarding Raich the free kick this time. Bella Ayscue’s shot attempt was blocked. In the 21st minute, Amelia White got past her defender and took an aggressive drive to the goal, but was unsuccessful with her attempt.

Olivia Borgen and Brach had a one-on-one break toward the Nittany Lions’ goal, but the shot came up empty. A minute later, there were back-to-back fouls on both Penn State and Nebraska, awarding free kicks to both teams.

In the 30th minute, MacBean scored a line drive off an assist from Riley Gleason, giving the Nittany Lions the first goal on the scoreboard. The Cornhuskers tried to find momentum in a shot from Sadie White, but Mackenzie Gress saved it.

The next few minutes of gameplay consisted of back-and-forth attacks from both teams, and an off-target shot from Nebraska in the 40th minute.

The Cornhuskers tried to get on the board in the last minute of the half, but Gress saved the attempt from Ella Rudney. Penn State held a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.

The physicality and aggression from both sides continued into the second half, with two fouls on Nebraska and one for Penn State taking place within three minutes of each other.

In the 60th minute, an attack from Penn State was cut short when the referee called an offside. One minute later, MacBean split two defenders in an aggressive shot that went off-target.

In the 63rd minute, Amelia White went head-to-head with Nebraska’s Sadie Sant. White went to the ground, and Sant received a yellow card on the play for unsportsmanlike conduct. Penn State was amped up and responded with a shot attempt from MacBean.

Another yellow card was awarded to Nebraska’s Karli Williams in the 69th minute.

As gameplay continued into the 73rd minute, Nebraska utilized its speed to steal passes and force an offiside against Penn State. The Nittany Lions had several turnovers in the next few minutes.

Martin stayed in front of Nebraska’s Ava Makovicka’s drive to the goal and blocked the shot herself in the 82nd minute.

After minutes of no attacks, Aubrey Kulpa missed a shot at the center of the net, which was blocked by Cece Villa from Nebraska. A third yellow card was picked up for the Cornhuskers by Jo Sees in the 87th minute.

With 30 seconds left in the match, a shot from Nebraska’s Lauryn Anglim at the top right of the net went under review. Anglim’s game-tying shot was ruled as a goal.

The match ended in a tie, 1-1.

Takeaways

• Nebraska came out of the gate strong with steals and aggressive defense, both of which the Nittany Lions didn’t see against Maryland. Penn State didn’t get rattled, as the team quickly found its rhythm in a point from MacBean, setting the pace for the rest of the game.
• Nebraska’s three yellow cards in the second half lit a fire under Penn State. The team was able to pick up on their ball handling, stay composed, and stay in control, regardless of the physical aggression from Nebraska.
• Nebraska’s speed seemed to stun Penn State in the beginning of the game, but the Nittany Lions’ endurance throughout was strong. However, in the last few seconds of the game, the Nittany Lions were bested.

What’s Next?

Penn State will take on Wisconsin at Jeffrey Field at 3 p.m. on Sunday, September 21. The game will be streamed on BTN+.