Penn State women’s soccer roars to victory in the final minutes against UCF

In a matchup rooted early in the fight for possession, No. 6 Penn State battled against UCF as the sun set behind Jeffrey Field Thursday evening.

The Nittany Lions had several opportunities to edge the Knights early, but it took until the final two minutes for the unit to find the back of the net off a laser from Mieke Schiemann to win 1-0.

“One of the things we always talk about is that the game owes you nothing,” head coach Erica Dambach said. “It doesn’t matter how many times you knock and you’ve got to make your own luck.”

In the game’s opening minutes, both teams fought hard for possession before the Nittany Lions managed to prowl on the attack.

“We were focusing on starting sharp and trying to keep the ball,” Schiemann said.

The blue and white had several chances denied by the goalposts in the first half, much to the relief of UCF’s goalkeeper, Caroline Delisle.

Overall, the Knights defended for most of the contest as Penn State maintained its high press and heavy attack.

When UCF did have more possession in the first half, it struggled in the attacking third; Penn State forced the Knights into several turnovers making it hard for the black and gold to build any momentum.

It wasn’t until the 28th minute when the black and gold got a look at goal; Dayana Martin’s header was just off target resulting in a goal kick for Katherine Asman.

While the Nittany Lions found themselves within the box, the black and gold were able to prevent them from scoring in the first half and the score remained knotted at 0-0.

UCF opened up the second half hot as the temperature cooled, forcing Asman to come up with an important save. The graduate student keeper had three saves on the day in the Nittany Lions’ victory.

“The composure that [Asman] brings….you just can’t teach experience and I think that’s what you’re dealing with right now,” Dambach said.

Tensions continued to mount for the Knights and in the 52nd minute, Sanja Homann took out Amelia White’s legs from under her during a fast-break forcing her to be dealt a red card. In turn, the black and gold played the remaining minutes with only ten players on the pitch.

Penn State’s opportunities kept mounting as the minutes ticked on but it failed to capitalize on set pieces. Delisle and the rest of UCF’s defense were all over the onslaught and prevented the blue and white’s earlier chances.

“Obviously we’ve got good size and good service and we’ve got to start connecting on some of those [corner kicks],” Dambach said.

One after another, the Nittany Lions tested Delisle, and each time the keeper made the diving block and surging save.

Overall, Delisle made 10 saves on 26 blue and white shots, yet the squad was still able to persevere.

“[The defense] were throwing their bodies into every ball out there,” Schiemann said. “But that’s something about our team too, we don’t stop, we keep going.”

While the blue and white were on the attack as Asman positioned herself right behind the center circle. Passes up the middle and touches dancing around the box forced the Knights on their toes, but they were able to keep pace up until the game’s final moments.

In the 88th minute, Payton Linnehan threaded a pass through to Schiemann where a shot finally got past the Knights' defense.

“I’m just happy we won this game,” Schiemann said. “Normally I’m [a center back] and all of a sudden coach was like ‘Oh go out there’ and I was like ‘Oh my gosh! What do I do?’ but P gave me the perfect service so it was an easy finish for me.”

Penn State will continue its homestand against Monmouth on Sunday. At Jeffrey Field, the Nittany Lions have yet to concede a goal and Asman has only allowed one this season.

Amanda Vogt is a sophomore studying broadcast journalism. To contact her, email amandaevogt@gmail.com.