At halftime, she made sure to re-address her team about Penn State’s speed up top.
The No. 8 Nittany Lions women’s soccer team has the ability to wreak havoc, poaching ill-advised passes from opposing defenses.
And Sunday, the Nittany Lions took advantage of it.
Penn State (6-1, 2-0) defeated IU (4-4, 0-2) 3-0 behind two goals created directly off of untimely IU passes in its own final third of the field.
“We addressed that they were too fast and too athletic and that we could not just pass it around in the back,” Berbary said. “We made a few mistakes. So, young and dumb, I guess.”
Penn State senior Emily Hurd intercepted an errant Hoosier pass in the 11th minute to set up a one-on-one scoring opportunity. She directed a shot past IU junior goalkeeper Sarah Stone for the early score.
Penn State scored a second goal in the 57th minute after yet another IU defensive miscue allowed for junior Raquel Rodriguez to score off a rebound from 15 yards in front of the nearside post.
Rodriguez’s powerful right-footed shot on goal was too quick for Stone to react. The Nittany Lions added a third goal in the 86th minute, taking advantage of the Hoosiers pushing numbers down field.
“They were just too quick up top,” IU senior midfielder Abby Smith said of the defensive mistakes.
On the other end of the field, the Penn State defense stymied the Hoosier attack.
IU was held to just seven shots — six of which came in the first half. Penn State goalie Britt Eckerstrom was forced to make just one save.
“I think they just kept it tight, and they were forcing us outside,” Smith said. “We did a good job of getting outside and getting in the box. Maybe we could have found something more in the middle.”
The loss to Penn State on Sunday came just two days after a stunning 2-1 fall to Ohio State (4-4, 1-1) on ?Friday.
The Hoosiers went up 1-0 in the 38th minute off a corner from senior defender Tori Keller that found the head of junior midfielder Jessie Bujouves, who headed the ball home for the Hoosier goal.
IU maintained the one-goal lead well into the second half. But with time ticking down, Ohio State sent the ball into the 18-yard box.
IU freshman defender Taylor Coley made contact with an Ohio State player. The Buckeye went down, and a referee was quick to award Ohio State with a penalty kick with only two seconds remaining on the clock.
Ohio State senior Kayla Varner sent her penalty effort to the lower 90, tying the game and forcing overtime.
Seven minutes into the overtime period, Ohio State junior midfielder Michela Paradiso scored, finalizing the victory.
“I’m absolutely gutted,” Berbary said after Friday’s game. “This is one that’s going to unfortunately stick in their heads for a while.”
After the penalty call was made, there wasn’t much Stone could do in goal.
“Nothing you can do,” senior defender Tori Keller said. “The ref made a tough call. They took advantage .... Obviously, just devastating.”
Despite failing to pick up any points in the opening conference weekend, there’s still plenty of time for IU to establish itself in the Big Ten standings with 11 games remaining.
The Hoosiers will play a pair of Big Ten games this week. IU travels to Illinois on Thursday and then play Northwestern on the road Sunday looking to pick up a few much-needed points.
“It’s huge,” Berbary said of the upcoming road trip. “We’ve got to treat every game like its our last because it could be. We need to push forward and regroup quickly.”
