Sept. 26, 2004
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Purdue (6-4, 2-2 Big Ten) took a 1-0 lead into halftime, but could not hold onto it as No. 5 Penn State (7-1-1, 3-0) rallied to win 3-1 in front of 979 fans Sunday afternoon at Jeffrey Field.
The victory was the Lion's 36th consecutive home triumph at Jeffrey. The last home loss for Penn State was on Nov. 25, 2000, falling to Portland in the third round of the NCAA tournament.
Purdue had designs on snapping this streak with Meghan Dybvig giving the Boilermakers a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute. Dybvig streaked down the left side after receiving a pass from Parrissa Eyorokon just past midfield. The senior co-captain then eluded the Nittany Lion defense, crossed back to the middle of the field, where she blasted her shot above Penn State goalkeeper Erin McLeod.
Dybvig's first goal of the season was the first allowed by McLeod in four matches.
Boilermaker head coach Rob Klatte instituted a rare 4-1-4-1 formation, which Penn State struggled to score against in the first half. The Nittany Lions were only able to launch six shots in the opening 45 minutes, three of which were on goal.
Penn State missed an excellent chance to knot the match at 1-1 midway through the first period, when Janelle Hoak shot wide from the goal box, after receiving a cross from Holly Lincoln.
Two of Mason's three first half saves came in the final five minutes, picking off shots by Alli Donofrio and Hoak. The defensive line also was very aggressive with Kristin Lichtenberg stealing a shot off the foot of the Big Ten's leading scorer Tiffany Weimer.
In the second half, Penn State continued their offensive blitz and were able to score their equalizer in the 54th minute on a goal from Sophie Hiller. The goal was scored with Mason out of position, after she left the net to save a shot by Carmelina Moscato. The deflected shot bounced to Hiller near the left post, where she buried her blast from five-yards back.
Minutes later, Lichtenberg derailed Weimer a second time, making a slide tackle that pushed the ball out of bounds. Weimer had a look at a wide-open net after Mason left early to make the save.
Weimer returned the favor in the 72nd minute, providing the game-winning assist to Donofrio. Weimer slid her cross along the goal-box line down to Donofrio at the left post, where she one-timed it past a diving Mason.
Weimer then provided an insurance goal, her 10th of the season, with just under seven minutes left. She was assisted by Amanda Lentz.
Purdue returns home to the Varsity Soccer Complex Friday for a 3 p.m. match against No. 25 Wisconsin. The Boilermakers blanked the Badgers, 1-0, last year in Madison.
Klatte's crew will receive next Sunday off prior to playing host to Michigan (Oct. 8) and Michigan State (Oct. 10).