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#22 Fighting Illini Drop Road Contest at Penn State, 1-0
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Senior defender Jenna Carosio earned a great opportunity during the contest with Penn State, placing a header shot on-target in the 20th minute.
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Sept. 25, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 22 nationally-ranked Illinois soccer team was shutout for the first time on the 2011 season, falling at Penn State, 1-0, on Sunday afternoon to conclude a five-game road stretch, the longest regular season streak in program history. The Illini managed 13 shots on the contest, with sophomore midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo leading the way with four attempts.
"I am proud of the fight we showed today," Illinois head coach Janet Rayfield said. "Through the first 20 to 25 minutes we played some of the best soccer we have played this season, but we need to make it count in terms of finding the back of the net. We struggled to sustain that physically, but fought through it as best we could."
The Nittany Lions (9-3-0 overall, 2-1-0 Big Ten) tallied the lone goal of the contest in the 39th minute, with Ali Schaefer connecting on a shot into the upper-left corner of the netting on a pass from Whitney Church.
Illinois was not without scoring opportunities during the contest, as senior defender Jenna Carosio, junior forward Niki Read and junior forward Shayla Mutz each placed a shot on-target; however, Nittany Lion goalie Erin McNulty was able to corral each. Mutz tested McNulty early in the first half, putting an attempt on net from the left wing in the 13th minute, the first shot on goal by either team during the contest. Carosio followed with a header from the left wing only six minutes later, while Read's attempt came in the 48th minute, with the Lake Orion, Mich., native sizing up a strike from the top of the 18-yard box.
For the game, Illinois outshot Penn State, 13-12, and had three shots on goal to the Nittany Lions' two. Penn State tallied more corner kick opportunities, 5-3, while the Illini were called for six fouls to the Nittany Lions' five. McNulty made three saves in net for Penn State while junior goalkeeper Steph Panozzo stopped one shot for Illinois.
The Orange and Blue (6-4-1, 0-2-1) return home following their program-record five game regular season road stretch to host Indiana (5-5-1, 1-2-0) on Friday, Sept. 30 for a 7 p.m. CT contest. Illinois will then take to the field at Illinois Soccer Stadium against Purdue (3-7-1, 0-2-1) at 1 p.m. CT on Sunday, Oct. 2.
