Sept. 20, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.-The Penn State women's soccer team notched its second win-a-row with a 2-0 victory over James Madison on Sunday at Jeffrey Field. Freshman Christine Nairn (Bowie, Md.) provided the offensive firepower with a goal and an assist.
Dominance on the offensive end translated into two goals as Penn State (4-4) out-shot James Madison (4-4), 25-8 for the game. PSU put 11 of the 25 shots on goal.
Emma Thomson (Nottinghamshire, England) opened the scoring as she took a quick free kick from Nairn, blasting a shot from 20 yards out inside the left post in the 12th minute. Nairn drew a free kick and Thomson was left alone while the JMU defense set up, leaving a clear path to the goal.
Penn State applied pressure all half including an opportunity by Jackie Molinda (Pittsburgh, Pa.), but her shot near the end of the stanza from eight yards out was saved by JMU's Diane Wszalek (nine saves).
Nairn began the second half with a bang when she took a failed clearance by the James Madison defense. She dribbled to her left a couple of steps and drilled a left-footed shot to the upper right corner of the net from 25 yards out for the 2-0 lead in the 48th minute.
The Nittany Lions continued to apply pressure and Jess Rosenbluth (Gladwyne, Pa.) had two excellent chances on net, a chip saved by Wszalek and a half volley turned away just moments later in the 73rd minute. Lexi Marton (Aurora, Ontario) had her rebound saved by Wszalek after Rosenbluth's chances.
Rachel Lamarre (Montreal, Quebec) was dangerous all second half getting behind the JMU defense, including a chance where she nicked the crossbar in the 85th minute. A minute later she went streaking in on goal all alone, but was brought down by Elisa Davidson, who only received a yellow card for her actions.
For the game, the Nittany Lions led in the important offensive categories: shots (25-9) and corner kicks (11-3). Alyssa Naeher (Seymour, Conn.) upped her shutout streak to 225 minutes with her shutout. She made four saves on the day.
The Nittany Lions will return to action when they take a short jaunt to Lewisburg, Pa. to play in-state rival, Bucknell. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. at Emmitt Field.
--NITTANY LIONS--