Aug. 26, 2007
Charlottesville, Va. - Three unanswered second-half goals, including two by Kiersten Wood, quickly erased a 1-0 halftime deficit as Penn State picked up its second win over a top 10 team in as many days, 3-1 over No. 8 Virginia. One day after topping No. 6 Old Dominion by the same score, the No. 7 Nittany Lions improved to 2-0 for the first time since 2003.
Wood tallied both the game-tying and eventual game-winning goals, both of which were assisted by Jen Long. Britney Long also scored for the second straight game as she once again put up the third Penn State goal of the game, this one off an assist from Natalie Blasco.
"We picked up two very big wins this weekend against a pair of quality teams," said Penn State coach Charlene Morett. "It is really a testament to the perserverence and character of this team that they were able to come into two tough opponents' homes and battle the heat particularly yesterday and still come out of here with two wins."
The majority of the first half was played in the midfield as both teams combined for just six shots, four for the Cavaliers and two for the Nittany Lions. Virginia capitalized on one of their opportunities just 7:21 into the game as Traci Ragukas put back a deflection off Penn State keeper Jen Beaumont for the first goal of the game. The ball had deflected off Beaumont after she saved a shot off the stick of Kaitlyn Hiltz.
Both of Penn State's first half shots came off the stick of Mallory Weisen following penalty corners and both were kicked away by Virginia keeper Amy Desjadon. One of those shots was nearly tipped in by Allison Scola but the ball skidded by her after being tipped by Desjadon.
With a new goalkeeper on for the Cavaliers in the second half, Penn State was able to capitalize on its first penalty corner of the second half. At the 37:27 mark, Kiersten Wood scored her first goal of the season as she one-timed a pass from Jen Long past new keeper Devon Burnley. Long had received the ball off the corner and instead of setting it for a one-time shot at the top of the circle, she tapped it to her left flank to Wood, who finished.
 For the second straight game, Britney Long scored the third Penn State goal of the game in a 3-1 win over No. 8 Virginia.  | |
A little over 14 minutes later, Penn State took the lead on a very similar play to the first goal, with the same result. Following a penalty corner, Long once again flipped a short pass to Wood on the left flank, who once again one-timed the ball into the cage to give the Nittany Lions a 2-1 lead.
The Nittany Lions extended their advantage to a 3-1 game just over a minute later as Britney Long tallied her second goal in as many days. The play began when Scola sent a ball into the circle from the right flank. The ball made it through into the center of the semicircle, where it was tipped further in and toward the left of the goal by Natalie Blasco, where Long was waiting to finish it.
Penn State dominated the majority of the offensive action in the second half, outshooting Virginia 9-4 and for the game, had 11 shots to the Cavaliers' eight. The Nittany Lions also generated far more chances through penalty corners, taking 10 corners to just three for the Cavaliers.
Beaumont made six saves for the Nittany Lions in goal while Desjadon made two saves in a scoreless first half for her and Burnley made four saves in the second half for Virginia. The Cavaliers were also assessed two yellow cards in the game, although none of Penn State's three goals came with the man advantage.
The Nittany Lions will be off for the next week and will next take their 2-0 record into their home opener a week from today, Sunday, September 2 against Connecticut at noon on AstroTurf Field.
Sunday's game can be seen on a tape delay basis on ACCSelect TV, a web-based on-demand package from the Atlantic Coast Conference. Fans can go to ACCSelect.com to find the game.