Penn State senior midfielder Nikki Watts (left) scored the game-tying goal and then assisted on the eventual gamewinner, as PSU rallied past UConn (3-2).
Penn State's home tournament ended on an up note, as the Nittany Lions scored twice late in thesecond half to snatch victory away from Connecticut (3-2). UConn held the lead twice, as sophomore forward Jessica Shufelt (Rochester, N.Y.) scored a rebound goal in the third minute of the game (2:36) and junior forward Elise Fugowski (Stockholm, N.J.) tallied in the 57th minute for a 2-1 lead (on a breakaway, after senior defender Lauren Ebert's thru-ball split the defense).
PSU junior forward Danielle Toney (Northville, Mich.) had scored on a similar play 16 minutes into the game, connecting with a thru-ball from senior forward Katie Schoepfer (Waterford, Conn.) and sending the tying score between the legs of 'keeper Jessica Dulski. UConn later was 15 minutes away from victory, but senior midfielder Nikki Watts (Hungerford, England) re-tied the game, after taking a pass from sophomore midfielder Ali Schaefer (Las Vegas, Nev.) and scoring far-post.
The 2-2 score lasted only a couple minutes, as freshman midfielder Christine Nairn (Bowie, Md.) scored the eventual gamewinner, heading in a cross after a combination play that included assists from Watts and Toney.
Freshman midfielder Christine Nairn (left) had a memorable first career goal for Penn State, scoring the gamewinner vs. UConn.
Penn State finished with a dominating 30-6 shot edge, including 13-5 in shots on goal (UConn owned its 2-1 lead, despite having put only three shots on frame at that time). The Nittany Lions reached double-digit corner kicks (10) while limiting UConn to a pair of CKs.