Wearing the navy blue jerseys yesterday, the No. 5 Penn State (7-1-1, 3-0 Big Ten) women's soccer team started the game playing a little bluish itself.
Purdue (6-4, 2-2) came out aggressively, getting two shots on goal in the first 7 minutes, and scoring 7:17 into the game.
The Nittany Lions, who have not lost in eight straight games, played a little shell-shocked. Passes weren't crisp, Purdue was getting to the ball faster and the Lions appeared to be a bit disheveled.
Then Penn State women's soccer coach Paula Wilkins decided to switch things up. She substituted freshman Aubrey Aden-Buie into the game with 29:11 left in the first half. Next was sophomore Holly Lincoln.
Penn State had just begun to regain composure when the two subs came in, but something happened when the underclassmen entered. A new energy was felt, and the Lions offense began to attack stronger and get more chances.
A few minutes later junior Janelle Hoak got in, followed by freshman Ali Donofrio and sophomore Jean Rettig. The momentum had shifted and finally the offense was threatening. A pass from Donofrio to Hoak almost turned into a goal, but Hoak's shot sailed over the net.
With 4:55 left in the first half, Donofrio got the Lions first shot on goal. In the final 5 minutes of the half, Penn State had three shots on goal; all of them coming from the bench, and the Lions went into halftime with the momentum.
"I thought they brought some energy," Wilkins said. "A lot of [the subs] saw it as an opportunity to prove themselves and I was very pleased with what they did."
In the second half, the spark that was lit finally ignited some of the upperclassmen. After senior Sophie Hiler tied the game 9 minutes into the second half, it was back to the subs to continue their first half success.
Donofrio came back into the game with 23:43, and provided instant offense. Barely more than 2 minutes after she landed on the field, it was the freshman scoring the game-winner against a Big-Ten rival.
"Recently I've been kind of in a slump, with not that much confidence," Donofrio said about her first career goal. "I just felt confident today."
In only her first year on the team, she already knows the type of attitude it takes to win 33 straight home games.
"It was just like, this is Jeffrey Field. This is our field." Donofrio said. "No one beats us on this field."
When junior Tiffany Weimer scored late in the second half, the game was sealed and the Lions kept their eight-game unbeaten streak intact. While it was the upperclassmen that took control of the game when their team needed it, it was some of the underclassmen that got things going.
"The freshmen have been great," Hiler said. "Ali Donofrio hit a big goal for us. They were our boost today. We knew they were carrying this team."
Penn State's bench accounted for four of its nine shots on goal, and six of its 17 shots, after only getting one shot against Indiana on Friday.
