The Penn State women’s soccer team advanced to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals Sunday with a dramatic 4-3 overtime win over Saint Louis off the foot of fifth-year forward Payton Linnehan.
Kaitlyn MacBean and Olivia Borgen combined to gain possession near midfield to set up the play. MacBean’s pass took a lucky bounce off a Billiken’s leg, caroming straight toward Borgen breaking away downfield.
Borgen laced an assist to Linnehan, who juked around Saint Louis goaltender Emily Puricelli to find the back of the net with her left foot with 2:14 to play in the first overtime period. Penn State’s defense held strong from there, allowing just one shot attempt in the second overtime period to secure the win.
Midway through the first half, Penn State took a 2-0 lead in the span of 94 seconds with a pair of goals from MacBean.
The Billikens began to chip away at the lead from there, with Hannah Larson scoring off a nasty assist from Katie Houck 31 minutes in.
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Penn State nearly unraveled in the second half. Emily Gaebe tied the game 2-2 65 minutes in, and Larson tallied her second goal of the match off a free kick six minutes later to put the Billikens ahead.
The Nittany Lions were awarded a free kick of their own 87’ in after Caroline Kelly of the Billikens received a yellow card.
Fifth-year midfielder Cori Dyke floated the service toward a crowd of bodies in front of the net, and defender Mieke Schiemann scored the equalizer off a header to set the table for Linnehan’s overtime heroics.
The Penn State Women’s Soccer team advances to play the No. 1 seeded Clemson Tigers on the road at 1 pm on Saturday, November 25. The upcoming match marks the Nittany Lions’ first appearance in the quarterfinal round since 2018.
