Box Score
| Co-captain Erin McLeod (30) and the No. 1 seed Lions stay undefeated with a 5-2 win against West Virginia and Advance to the third round of the NCAA Championship. |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; November 13, 2005 - The No. 1 seed Nittany Lion women's soccer team (21-0-1) defeated West Virginia (12-6-0) in the second round of the NCAA tournament at Jeffrey Field Sunday, 5-2. With the win the Nittany Lions advance to the third round to play the winner of Southern Methodist and Texas A&M match in progress this afternoon. Head coach Paula Wilkins recorded her 99th career victory Sunday as the Lions advance to the NCAA third round for the seventh time in eight years.
The Nittany Lions punched in the first goal of the game when Big Ten All-Freshman team member Sheree Gray (Toms River, N.J.) sent a short pass to Allie Long (Northport, N.Y.), who drove it in off the crossbar at the 4:30 mark. Long, named second team All-Big Ten, scored her fourth goal of the season.
Sophomore midfielder Jean Rettig (Hummelstown, Pa.) scored an unassisted goal at 26:26, giving the Lions a 2-0 advantage. Rettig battled for the ball after capitalizing on a long pass from senior forward Carmelina Moscato (Mississaugua, Ontario), and converted the goal.
With seconds waning in the first half, West Virginia's Kim Bonilla (Dumfries, Va.) drove a close shot on the cage, only to be thwarted by a fingertip save from All-American and first team All-Big Ten goal tender Erin McLeod (Vancouver, B.C.). McLeod made five saves on the day, including several huge stops for the Lions. Senior defender Natalie Jacobs (Centreville, Va.) also cleared one off the line for the Lions in the defensive effort.
At the beginning of the second half, West Virginia increased pressure on the Lion's defense and were able to get on the scoreboard when Bonilla scored off an assist from fellow Mountaineer Kambria Riggins (Millersville, Pa.) to close to within one goal, 2-1.
Sophomore midfielder Zoe Bouchelle (Cockeysville, Md.) almost increased the Lion's lead to two, but was called offside early in the second half.
Shortly thereafter Tiffany Weimer (North Haven, Conn.) sent the Lions to a 3-1 lead with a header to the back of the net at 62:09 after key connections from Moscato and Heather Tomko (Manchester, Md.). Weimer, a top M.A.C. Hermann Trophy candidate, broke Christie Welsh's Big Ten record for goals in a season with the score, her 28th on the year.
With fifteen minutes remaining in the game, Bouchelle finally got one, beating a West Virginia defender 1-v-1 before punching the ball in the net, lifting the Lions to a 4-1 lead. Penn State is the first team all season to score more than two goals in regulation against the Mountaineers. For the tournament, Bouchelle has scored two goals and added an assist.
West Virginia answered back with 9:36 remaining when Rachael Minnich (Mason, Oh.) scored her fifth goal of the season on an assist from Kambria Riggins (Millersville, Pa.), but two goals was all the Mountaineers would get.
Penn State continued to play aggressively despite holding a two goal advantage, and responded to the West Virginia score when Aubrey Aden-Buie (Allentown, Pa.) dribbled past the goaltender to put the ball away for the Lions' final tally of the day, marking her 6th goal of the season.
The women's squad defeated Bucknell 6-0, Friday in the NCAA first round to start action. The third round of the tournament will take place Nov. 18-20. Match site and time will be announced once determined by the NCAA. Check back to www.GoPSUsports.com for all your latest information on the Nittany Lions.
1 2 F West Virginia (12-6-0) 0 2 2 No. 1 Penn State (21-0-1) 2 3 5 SCORING SUMMARY 4:30- PENN STATE: Allie Long, (Sheree Gray) 26:26- PENN STATE: Jean Rettig (Unassisted) 48:16- WEST VIRGINIA: Kim Bonilla (Kambria Riggins) 62:09- PENN STATE: Tiffany Weimer (Heather Tomko, Carmelina Moscato) 75:02- PENN STATE: Zoe Bouchelle (Unassisted) 80:26- WEST VIRGINIA: Rachael Minnich (Kambria Riggins) 84:22- PENN STATE: Aubery Aden-Buie (Unassisted) SHOTS: WVU 2+8=10; PSU 8+13=21 CORNER KICKS: WVU 1+3=4; PSU 3+5=8 FOULS: WVU 4+3=7; PSU 6+6=12 GOALKEEPING: WVU- Lana Bannerman (90 minutes, 5 goals against, 9 saves); PSU- Erin McLeod (90 minutes, 2 goal against, 5 saves) CARDS: PSU- YC- Natalie Jacobs (83:37). WVU- None.