Nov. 2, 2006
Box Score
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Northwestern's season came to an end Thursday night as they fell to the top seed and host Penn State Nittany Lions 3-2 at the Big Ten Tournament. Penn State took a 2-0 lead in the first 10 minutes, but the 'Cats evened the score on goals by Jenny Dunn (Pacific Palisades, Calif./Louisville) and Shannon Schneeman (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin Derham Hall). Penn State scored the game-winner 10 minutes before the end of the first half.
The 'Cats end their season 8-10-2 with a 4-5-1 mark in conference while Penn State improves to 13-4-3 with the win.
The top-seeded Nittany Lions put pressure on the 'Cats from the opening kickoff, getting an open shot on that was corralled by junior goalkeeper Lauren Johnston (Denver, Colo./Denver East). Penn State finally found the net in the 8th minute on a goal by Aubrey Aden-Buie. The junior found space on the right side of the 'Cats' six-yard box and took a shot with her toes on the end line that curled into the top-left corner.
The Lions added another score in the 10th minute when Ashley Myers took a pass from Sarah Dwyer and put it past the hands of a diving Johnston. The 'Cats found themselves down 2-0 less than 10 minutes into the contest.
The Wildcats got on the scoreboard in the 21st minute on a goal by Dunn, her fifth of the season. Freshman Zendzi Neal (Washington, D.C./Washington International) set up the play on a corner kick, Northwestern's first of five for the match. After it bounced around in the box the ball found the foot of Hans. She took a shot that deflected off the Lion keeper to the waiting foot of Dunn who put a shot inside the post to cut the 'Cats' deficit in half at the 20:49 mark.
Neal gave the 'Cats their next scoring opportunity when she got behind the Nittany Lion backline and was taken down before she could get a shot off. The foul resulted in a penalty kick for Northwestern, and in the biggest game of the year, Schneeman, one of the leaders of this Wildcat squad elected to take the kick. She was a perfect 2-for-2 on penalty kicks entering the tournament and continued her unblemished mark to tie the score at 2-2 in the 27th minute. The junior approached the ball quickly, giving the impression she would attempt to force the ball into the net, but at the last moment before her foot struck the ball, Schneeman slowed up and placed the ball into a net that was left open when the keeper dove too early.
Penn State re-captured the lead at the 34:49 mark when a Zoe Bouchelle shot bounced off the hands of Johnston to Aden-Buie who put a shot over the keeper to make the score 3-2 on her second tally of the contest.
The first half ended with the top-seeded Nittany Lions leading 3-2. Both teams took eight shots and the Wildcats, the Big Ten leaders in corner kicks, took three corners to none for the Lions.
In contrast to the first half, it was the Wildcats who put sustained pressure on the Nittany Lions to start the second half. Hans had a shot denied less than a minute into the second frame. The Wildcats continued to keep the ball in the Penn State end of the field, receiving two more corner kicks through the first 15 minutes of the second stanza. Penn State began to turn the tide in the 64th minute when they just missed scoring a goal off a free kick. Denay Riley's shot sailed over the crossbar as she slid into the box.
Although the Wildcats controlled play for most of the second half they could not net the equalizer and their season came to an end with a loss to the Nittany Lions in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, 3-2.
"It is hard to be down 2-0, but we fought hard," head coach Stephanie Erickson said. "I think we made a lot of progress this year and although our record doesn't show it, there is a great future for this team here."