STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – The Gophers women's soccer team made it a sweep in the first burst of Big Ten play as the Gophers defeated the No. 4 Penn State 1-0 on Sunday afternoon.

Junior Simone Kolander scored the goal for the Gophers (7-1-2, 2-0-0 Big Ten) in the 31st minute of play off a double assist from senior co-captain Haley Helverson and sophomore Sydney Squires.

Kolander also scored the winner in the 2-1 victory Thursday over Ohio State that opened the Big Ten season.

"We definitely had some momentum going into today from Thursday's win, and we were ready to accept the challenges we were going to face with Penn State being so highly ranked," Gophers coach Stefanie Golan said.

Kolander said the team's confidence was boosted by a nine-goal game last week against Nebraska Omaha.

"I think that really was the best thing for us because we learned to open up more and attack relentlessly," she said. "We weren't nervous, we weren't afraid to fail or take risks and that all paid off."

Junior goalkeeper Tarah Hobbs improved her record to 6-1-2.

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