Aug. 23, 2008
WILLIAMSBURG, Va - No. 9 Penn State opened its 2008 campaign Saturday with a convincing 3-1 victory at William & Mary, a team just out of the preseason Top 25. The 10-time defending Big Ten champion Nittany Lions got goals from senior midfielder Zoe Bouchelle (Cockeysville, Md.), sophomore forward Dani Toney (Northville, Mich.) and junior midfielder Alli Rago (Fairfield, Conn.) to start the season off with a well-balanced attack.
"As expected, the first 15-20 minutes of the game we were a little jittery... a little excited, but then we settled down," said PSU head coach Erica Walsh, who just returned back from helping the U.S. Women's National Team to a gold medal at the Beijing Olympic Games. "It was a good performance from our veterans and the young players looked excited and comfortable like they had been playing with each other for months. It was a great team effort."
The 5-5 Bouchelle elevated to head-in Penn State's first goal of the season off a corner kick from junior midfielder Melissa Hayes (Cave Creek, Ariz.). The Nittany Lions took the 1-0 lead into the locker room at halftime, then used the first five minutes of the second half to make a statement, going up 3-0 on the Tribe with two quick goals.
Speedy sophomore forward Toney made the first deposit off an outstanding pass from freshman defender Emma Thompson (Retford, England) at the 48:30 mark to put the Nittany Lions up 2-0. Toney had the helper on the next goal when Rago converted on the breakaway from the left side into the upper right corner. Rago also had an great outing in her first start for the Nittany Lions.
William & Mary got their lone goal of the night when Claire Zimmeck headed in the assist from Stephanie Gerow, deep on the endline.
Penn State dominated shots 14-5 and forced the Tribe's goalkeepers to have to make five saves. Nittany Lion All-American goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher (Seymour, Conn.) had one save and allowed one goal. Senior central midfielder Jessie Davis (Fairfax, Va.) put in a solid performance as did freshman defender Thompson.
The ninth-ranked Nittany Lions have a Top 10 battle on tap for their home opener on Friday, Aug. 29 at 5 p.m. when fourth-ranked Florida State comes to town. Hofstra and Connecticut meet at 7:30 p.m. that same night. Tournament action at Jeffrey Field continues when FSU and UCONN tangle on Sunday at noon. PSU and Hofstra meet at 2:30 p.m. for the first time since the Nittany Lions eliminated Hofstra in overtime from last year's NCAA Tournament.
NOTE: Head coach Erica Walsh arrived back in the United States from Beijing at midnight Eastern Time to Norfolk, Va., and traveled straight to William & Mary, arriving at approximately 1:30 a.m. Walsh was with Penn State for team breakfast and, of course, on the sidelines for the Nittany Lions' 3-1 defeat of her alma mater William & Mary.
--NITTANY LIONS--