College Cup: Nittany Lions top Rutgers 2-0

by Travis Clark

December 4, 2015

CARY, N.C. — After two earlier meetings in 2015, Penn State delivered its most impressive performance against Big Ten counterpart Rutgers, topping the Scarlet Knights 2-0 to advance to a national championship.

It was a patient, professional performance from the Nittany Lions, as they punished mistakes with a ruthless efficiency and shutdown the Rutgers attack in the final third.

Goals from Frannie Crouse and Kaleigh Riehl in each half secured progression for Penn State, which controlled the match for long portions and continued its NCAA shutout streak.

“I thought defensively their game plan gave us everything we could handle,” Penn State head coach Erica Walsh said after the game. “I thought they did a good job of really slowing down our attack, creating problems for us to solve that for too many portions of the game we had a hard time solving.”

Capitalizing on mistakes was always going to be key in separating the two defensively sound sides. And after 25 minutes of tight, scoreless soccer, Penn State’s patient approach paid dividends.

An errant Rutgers pass paved the way for Penn State’s first goal in the 24th minute. Frannie Crouse was alert to a low pass sent in the direction of Rutgers goalkeeper Casey Murphy. Confusion reigned at the back, and no one along the Rutgers back line could beat the sophomore speedster to the ball. Crouse fired off a shot off just ahead of a sliding Brianne Reed, looping over Murphy and into the back of the net.

“When you play against a team like that the details are so important,” Rutgers head coach Mike O’Neill said. “There were some mistakes that we made that they capitalized on and when you get to this level that is what happens.”

MORE: 2015 College Cup Coverage | DI Women's Bracket

With the lead, the central midfield pairing of Emily Ogle and Raquel Rodriguez began to stamp its authority on the game. Forcing Rutgers out wide, neither Colby Ciarrocca nor Madison Tiernan found much joy against Penn State’s outside backs. Ciarocca engineered Rutgers’ most dangerous moment of the first half, sending in a teasing cross for Rachel Cole, only for PSU defender Madeline Ellison to make an intervention to snuff out the opportunity. Other than that, the Scarlet Knights struggled to threaten – even Reed’s famous flip throw was nullified by a cool, damp evening.

Nursing the slender lead, Penn State looked for the kill early in the second half. Nickolette Driesse had a golden chance two minutes into the match, but fired straight to Murphy.

At the other end, Tiernan finally found herself with some space in the box, turning her defender only to spoon her shot out of the stadium.

Just when Rutgers seemed to get a foothold in the game, Rodriguez and the rest of the Penn State midfield would play the ball out from congested areas and keep the Scarlet Knights at bay.

“Raquel’s ability to escape pressure was unlike anything I’ve ever seen, to be honest,” Walsh said. “So often she was played the ball with two, three players around and was able to escape with ease. It was a big reason why we were able to break their defense oftentimes. Her ability to turn with the bal, her ability to combine with [Driesse] and [Ogle] was a big key to our attack tonight, and I thought she was outstanding.

Threatening the left side of the Rutgers defense with her past, Mallory Weber just missed extending the lead in the 65th minute. With the Scarlet Knight back line pulled out of shape, a perfectly weighted Driesse pass found a wide open Weber, streaking into the box. Her shot beat Murphy, but it caromed off the far post and straight into the arms of the Rutgers goalkeeper.

Murphy kept it at a one-goal deficit, executing a tremendous lunging save on a Haleigh Echard shot in the 78th minute. But Penn State would eventually get its second a minute later, taking advantage of another failed clearance. Weber controlled a bouncing corner kick, and her blocked shot fell to freshman center back Kaleigh Riehl. The defender produced a forward’s finished, beating a diving Murphy to the far corner and putting the game away.

“It feels as though she hardly puts a foot wrong,” Walsh said about her freshman goal scorer. “She’s been a huge key to our success, and that whole back line, another shutout, another outstanding performance from [goalkeeper] Britt Eckerstrom, and overall I’m real proud of the way this team defends.”

The second goal put a stamp on the game, as Penn State advance to the national title game for the first time since 2012.

Related Topics: Big Ten