Nov. 9, 2008
Iowa City, Iowa – In the Big Ten Tournament final, top-seeded Penn State edged Minnesota, 2-1, to earn the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. The win was Penn State’s (16-7-0) sixth Big Ten Tournament title. Danielle Toney and Emma Thomson scored goals for Penn State to secure the win.
Toney was named Offensive Player of the Tournament after scoring the game-winning goal in the 65th minute. It was her third goal of the tournament. Penn State goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher was named Defensive Player of the Tournament after securing nine saves against the Golden Gophers.
Penn State freshman Emma Thomson got the scoring started in the 22nd minute off an assist from Carly Niness to give the Nittany Lions the early 1-0 lead. Minnesota’s Shari Eckstrom evened things up in the 39th minute when she scored an unassisted goal off her own rebound. But it was Toney who had the last laugh, skipping a pass from Katie Schoepfer past Minnesota goalkeeper Lindsey Dare to secure Penn State’s win.
Minnesota’s Tamara Strahota and Lindsey Schwartz each had five shots for the Golden Gophers, while Dare made four saves.
Minnesota finished the regular season with a record of 20-3-0, with two of the three losses coming to Penn State.