Penn State women’s soccer: Minnesota upsets Nittany Lions

The Penn State women’s soccer team ended up on the wrong end of a defensive struggle on Sunday afternoon.

Simone Kolander scored the day’s lone goal as Minnesota stunned the No. 4 Nittany Lions 1-0 at Jeffrey Field.

Haley Halverson sent the ball across the field to Sydney Squires, who crossed the ball back to Kolander for a tap-in and her fifth goal of the season. The score was the first allowed by Penn State after 384 minutes, 19 seconds of shutout play. The Golden Gophers have been a strong team in the first half this season, outscoring opponents 12-1.

Minnesota (7-1-2, 2-0) outshot Penn State 12-10, and the Nittany Lions had plenty of quality chances. Two shots bounced off the crossbar, and another was cleared by a defender on the line on a corner kick attempt.

Britt Eckerstrom made four saves in the loss.

Penn State (6-2-1, 1-1) heads to Nebraska on Friday.

This story was originally published September 20, 2015 at 11:48 PM with the headline "Penn State women’s soccer: Minnesota upsets Nittany Lions."