WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (www.purduesports.com) – Mikayla Lasky’s goal early in the second half gave Purdue women’s soccer the lead for just under 10 minutes, but No. 9 Penn State scored the game’s final two goals to rally past the Boilermakers 2-1 Thursday evening.

Lasky finished off a nifty free-kick sequence in the 49th minute for her first goal since September 2013. It was her first career goal in Big Ten play and gave Purdue (7-7-1, 2-5-1 B1G) its first lead against the Nittany Lions (11-2-2, 6-1-1 B1G) since 2010. The goal ended PSU’s shutout streak at 381 consecutive minutes as the first goal it had conceded since the first half of a Sept. 27 win at Iowa.

Megan Schafer’s team-leading eighth goal in the 58th minute served as the equalizer. FIFA World Cup veteran Raquel Rodriguez later accounted for the game winner at the Boilermaker Soccer Complex for the second year in a row, scoring in the 80th minute off another well-executed set piece.

Penn State’s win coupled with Minnesota’s home loss to Michigan State allowed PSU to move into a first-place tie in the Big Ten standings with Wisconsin. Unfortunately, MSU’s upset win in St. Paul was also a blow to Purdue’s Big Ten Tournament chances. The Spartans leapfrogged Illinois for eighth place in the standings Thursday.

Assists from Andrea Petrina and Kim Love set up Lasky’s goal. Petrina served a free kick from midfield into the right side of the 18-yard box. Love won the ball with a mid-air header, redirecting the ball left to a wide-open Lasky in front of the net for a quick one-touch score with her right foot.

Emily Ogle and Mallory Weber teamed up for a similar sequence that led to Rodriguez’s game-winning goal. Ogle played a free kick into the 18-yard box from the east sideline. The ball came to the feet of Weber, who had her back to the goal as she sealed off a defender. After maintaining possession with a quality first touch, Weber connected a left-to-right pass to her teammate, putting Rodriguez in position to score with a shot inside the right post.

A long service from the east sideline by Ellie Jean also led to Schafer’s equalizer. She scored with a shot from the heart of the 18-yard box inside the right post as well.

Goalkeeper Jordan Ginther made four of her five saves in the second half. She and the Purdue defense also teamed up successfully defend 12 corner-kick opportunities for Penn State. The Nittany Lions dominated possession throughout the night and had sizable advantages in shots and corners.

Melissa Casella, Makaela Nellams, Dannah Williams and Love went the distance among the Boilermakers’ field players. Hannah Mussallem had to leave the game for one minute late in the second half due to injury or she too would have gone the distance. Nicole Robertson logged 53 minutes to lead the reserves after starting the second half. Gianna Milaro was the first Purdue player off the bench.

The Boilermakers played without Hannah Leinert for the first time this season after she reaggravated a lower body injury in practice this week. Head coach Drew Roff was hopeful the team’s second-leading goal scorer would be able to play Sunday at Maryland, a game that remains a must win for Purdue.

Kickoff Sunday in College Park is set for 1 p.m. The Boilermakers are visiting UMD’s Ludwig Field for the second year in a row.

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