Game Preview: Penn State vs. Iowa
The top seeded Nittany Lions opened up their run in the Big Ten tournament this past week. The quarterfinals went about as smoothly as they could’ve hoped, as they walked out of Jeffrey Field with a 3-1 win over Indiana.
The Nittany Lions jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the game with two goals coming from Ally Schlegel, giving her eleven on the season. Frankie Tagliaferri also found the net at the very end of the first half.
A crucial injury to Indiana goalie Bethany Kopel as well as offsides calls at the worst possible times for the Hoosiers also played a major role in keeping the momentum on the Nittany Lions side throughout the game.
Even as rain came falling down towards the end of the game, which had suddenly stopped the potent Penn State offense, there was nothing the Hoosiers could do to comeback.
A late goal by Anna Bennett for Indiana was the first goal allowed by Penn State in four games way back when the Nittany Lions defeated Michigan back on March 21.
Now for the Big Ten semifinals, the Nittany Lions will welcome the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Hawkeyes have been the surprise of the tournament thus far as they came into it the third worst team in the Big Ten and with just two regular season wins.
Those wins came against a winless Maryland squad and a Purdue team that isn’t much higher than Iowa in the standings.
The lack of regular season success hasn’t stopped the Hawkeyes from beating two of the top three teams in the Big Ten come tournament time. It started with an overtime win against two seeded Illinois as Meike Ingles scored the game winner just two minutes into extra time. That same Illinois team beat Iowa 3-0 in the regular season.
Then in the quarterfinals the Hawkeyes took out three seeded Minnesota with a 2-0 win. Both goals came in the first ten minutes with Ingles following her overtime winner in the last round with the opening goal two minutes into the game. Just like Illinois, the Golden Gophers beat Iowa in the regular season 1-0 a few weeks prior.
Now the Hawkeyes are trying to beat another top three team in the conference by taking out the top seeded Nittany Lions. The one regular season matchup between the two teams was a 1-0 Nittany Lion win as Schlegel scored the only goal in the game.
The winner of this game will move onto the Big Ten championship. If it is a Penn State win then Jeffery Field will be the host of the contest where they will host either Wisconsin or Rutgers. With an Iowa win they will do something they have become used to all tournament, hit the road and attempt to defy the odds.
Logan Bourandas is a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email lxb5412@psu.edu
