IOWA CITY, Iowa – Despite jumping ahead by an early 1-0 margin, the No. 15 Penn State women’s soccer team ultimately conceded a pair of scores later in the first half to drop a 2-1 road decision to the No. 18 Iowa Hawkeyes Thursday night from the Iowa Soccer Complex.
In defeat, the Nittany Lions drop to 8-3-1 overall and 2-2-0 in Big Ten Conference matches through the first four fixtures of the 2024 league year. Iowa’s win saw the Hawkeyes continue their unbeaten start to the 2024 campaign, rising to 8-0-3 overall with a 3-0-1 start to Big Ten action. In an all-time series which dates to the 1997 season, Iowa snagged its third win in the last four fixtures dating to the last Penn State victory on March 25, 2021, during the COVID-adjusted spring season. Despite Thursday’s result, the Blue & White still maintain a historically dominant 26-5-1 lead over Iowa all-time following the 31st all-time meeting.
The trio of first-half goals belied what was largely a physical, defensive affair, with the two programs combining for just nine total shots over 90 minutes of effort. Iowa managed to secure the victory in the shot chart by a 7-2 margin, with a slimmer 5-2 differential in shot attempts on goal. The Blue & White tripled the Hawkeye save total, winning that statistic by a 3-1 tally, with both squads finishing the night with a pair of corner kicks each. Physicality was the name of the game, with Iowa racking up a striking 13 fouls against just eight from the Nittany Lions.
On an individual basis, junior forward Amelia White was impressive in her 62 minutes of work Thursday night, finding the back of the net for the first time in her third collegiate campaign. White, a native of Fort Wayne, Indiana, secured her fifth collegiate goal in less than two minutes of match time, burying the quickest Nittany Lion score to open a match in the 2024 season. To date, White has appeared and started in all 12 contests for the Blue & White, notching four points through those showings with Thursday night’s goal joining a pair of assists earlier this year. White mustered her first goal for the Blue & White since last year’s Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal test on Jeffrey Field against the Indiana Hoosiers, with her tally helping propel PSU to a dominant 3-0 win.
Redshirt junior goalkeeper Amanda Poorbaugh registered her 11th consecutive start for the Nittany Lions between the pipes, also completing her 11th consecutive 90-minute showing in the process. The…
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