Penn State roars back to end Arizona soccer’s season in second round of NCAA Tournament

Photo by Ryan Kelapire

PALO ALTO, Calif. — More second-round heartbreak.

Frankie Tagliaferri scored in the 97th minute to lift No. 4 Penn State to a 4-3 win over Arizona soccer, ending the Wildcats’ season in the Round of 32 for the third straight season.

Arizona held leads of 2-0 and 3-2, but Penn State roared back both times. Sam Coffey snuck a shot inside the far post to level the game in the 88th minute and force overtime.

Arizona finishes the season with a 12-6-1 record, the fourth-most wins in program history.

A pair of unlikely heroes gave them a two-goal lead early in the second half when Grace Santos and Iyana Zimmerman scored their first goals of the season in the 38th and 50th minutes, respectively.

Santos fired a shot from the top of the box that was deflected and slowly rolled into the net. Zimmerman looped a cross from the corner of the box over the Penn State keeper.

Penn State answered in the 59th and 62nd minutes to knot the game at 2-all, but Jill Aguilera rifled a rocket from the left side of the box into the upper corner to help the Wildcats re-take a 3-2 lead in the 69th minute.

Sabrina Enciso blocked a shot along the goal line and Hope Hisey made a couple key saves to keep Arizona ahead before Coffey’s late equalizer.

Penn State outshot Arizona 16-7 in the final 52 minutes after the Wildcats owned a 9-3 shot advantage in the first half.

This story will be updated.

38' - Grace Santos scores the first of the game after sneaking the ball past the keeper!

Arizona 1, Penn State 0 pic.twitter.com/j7sTmakOI3

— Arizona Soccer (@ArizonaSoccer) November 23, 2019

50' - Iyana Zimmerman scores from the corner of the box to put another on the board for Arizona

Arizona 2, Penn State 0 pic.twitter.com/QJAc1ZHxf3

— Arizona Soccer (@ArizonaSoccer) November 23, 2019

70' - Cats take the lead once again thanks to a rocket shot from Jill Aguilera ⬇️

Arizona 3, Penn State 2 pic.twitter.com/XwYubXtTzh

— Arizona Soccer (@ArizonaSoccer) November 23, 2019

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