Penn State women’s soccer: Nittany Lions defeat Illinois in Big Ten quarterfinals

Opponents have their work cut out when facing a Penn State women’s soccer team that offers a multitude of threats, with 11 different players reaching the back of the net this season.

The only thing that seemed to slow down that attack Sunday was the assistant referee, as Penn State was whistled offsides five times as top-seeded Penn State topped No. 8 seed Illinois 3-1 at Jeffrey Field in the Big Ten quarterfinals.

After scoring three goals in three minutes in their last match, the Nittany Lions settled for a 15-minute span for Sunday’s goals.

Nickolette Driesse opened the scoring in the 27th minute, when Mallory Weber dribbled down the right touchline and crossed the ball to Megan Schafer in the box, who controlled and touched it to Driesse for a one-on-one opportunity with Illinois goalkeeper Claire Wheatley.

“Schafer’s pass was awesome, I was just like ‘wow!’ thinking about her pass,” Driesse said of the assist. “I was like ‘I have no choice but to finish this right now.’”

Driesse has emerged as a playmaker over the last two matches. The junior midfielder has scored two of her three goals this season in the last two matches, plus assisted on the opening goal last match.

“She’s flying high right now,” coach Erica Walsh said. “You hope as the season goes on they get better and I think Nick’s a great example.

“She was in and out of the lineup and it didn’t faze her and now she’s playing some of the best ball of the season,” Walsh added of Driesse, who has started 11 of the 18 matches this season.

Penn State is now 13-0 this season when scoring the opening goal of the match.

Weber added her eighth goal of the season in the 33rd minute, rebounding a deflected save off a Frannie Crouse shot, with an uncontested header.

That marked the third match this season Weber recorded a goal and assist.

Crouse would find the net nine minutes later, sending a dribbling ball to the far post that Wheatley was able to get a hand on, but couldn’t stop from rolling in, capping the Nittany Lions’ three-goal first half.

The goal ended a scoring drought for Crouse, which spanned since her two-goal effort Sept. 27 at Iowa.

“She’s a threat every time she touches the ball and thankfully she got her due,” Walsh said of her team’s third-leading scorer.

As has been the case all season, the Penn State backline stayed solid throughout the match, complementing the aggressive attack of their forwards. At the half, Penn State held a 15-1 advantage in shots.

Illinois senior Janelle Flaws entered the match as the school’s all-time scorer with 54 goals and leads the Big Ten this season with 11 goals and 28 points. For much of the game, Flaws and the Fighting Illini attack struggled to create many chances.

“I’ve never played with a team that has such a trustworthy defense,” Crouse said. “It’s honestly amazing to know that if you get beat there’s someone behind that’s going to back you up. You couldn’t ask for a better defense in that aspect.”

Penn State goalkeeper Britt Eckerstrom finished with three saves, conceding a 77th-minute goal to Kara Marbury, Illinois’ second-leading goal scorer.

A 3-1 win over Michigan last Wednesday clinched the top seed for Penn State, and a share of the Big Ten regular-season title. The two teams will meet again on Jeffrey Field on Friday in the semifinals at either 3:30 or 6 p.m. Ohio State and Rutgers will battle in the other semifinal, with the finals set for 2 p.m. Sunday.

“Playing the same opponent twice in the season is one of the more challenging things to do in this sport because each game is a new adventure,” Walsh said.

The Nittany Lions are embracing the challenge, however, and in her first season at Penn State, freshman centerback Kaleigh Riehl is looking for the team to make a statement to the rest of the conference.

“We all really want to win the tournament because we’re sharing the Big Ten title right now so we really want to come show we belong on top,” she said.

This story was originally published November 1, 2015 at 7:34 PM with the headline "Penn State women’s soccer: Nittany Lions defeat Illinois in Big Ten quarterfinals."