Nov. 15, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.--The No. 16-ranked Penn State women's soccer team held a 2-0 lead through nearly an hour of play, but Virginia unleashed a barrage of goals in 20 minutes to take the NCAA Second Round match, 6-2, at Jeffrey Field on Sunday. Jess Rosenbluth (Gladwyne, Pa.) and Ali Schaefer (Las Vegas, Nev.) scored their first goals of the season for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State (13-6-2) looked strong as the Nittany Lions took a 2-0 lead into halftime. PSU broke a scoreless tie in the 21st minute when Katie Schoepfer (Waterford, Conn.) found Rosenbluth on the left wing. Rosenbluth struck a strong right-footed shot from 10 yards out that found the inside right post and the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.
That goal broke some early momentum for the Cavaliers (10-5-6) who took the first six shots of the afternoon. Sixteen minutes later, a series of corner kicks led to the second goal when Christine Nairn's (Bowie, Md.) curling left-footed cross found Schaefer all alone on the back post to tuck it in for a two-goal advantage in the 37th. Penn State looked dangerous right before halftime when an early ball from Katie Schoepfer (Waterford, Conn.) found Nikki Watts on the far post, but her header skimmed the edge of the post with 10 seconds left in the half.
Early in the second half, Virginia's Lauren Alwine had a chance just two minutes into the stanza that was saved about eight yards from net by Alyssa Naeher (Seymour, Conn.). Naeher, who suffered a PCL knee injury this spring, had her brace on her left knee broken and play was stopped for several minutes while trainers taped her knee. In the midst of Naeher going down, Schoepfer had received a long ball and a breakaway opportunity, but her shot was easily saved by Chantel Jones (four saves).
Virginia would have another shot by Colleen Flanagan go wide in the 50th minute, but the feet of the Cavaliers were silent until the 60th minute. Alwine struck for an unassisted goal as she hit a perfect shot off the far post to cut the lead in half.
After a chance by Alli Rago (Fairfield, Conn.), UVa's Sinead Farrelly received a Caitlin Miskel pass, turned and fired an unstoppable blast from 15 yards to tie things up in the 65th minute. With momentum clearly on the Cavaliers' sides, the Nittany Lions nearly got one back but a breakaway attempt by Schoepfer was stopped when UVa's Morgan Stith tackled Schoepfer 12 yards from net, but a foul was not called.
On the other end, Virginia's Caroline Miller gathered a pass from Erica Hollenberg and slotted a laser of a shot to the upper right-hand corner of the net from 20 yards out for the Cavaliers' first lead of the day in the 73rd minute. Less than two minutes later, Hollenberg would put a shot away from the end line after a quick pass from Farrelly set up the score for a 4-2 lead.
Things got worse for Penn State as 106 seconds later as Miller stunned the Lions again with a blast from the middle of the penalty area that Naeher (four saves) couldn't control as she deflected it into the net. Virginia's Meghan Lenczyk would cap the scoring when her shot, which looked to be going wide, was knocked in by Penn State's Emma Thomson (Nottinghamshire, England) in the 80th minute.
The six goals were the most given up by Penn State in program history, as Virginia out-shot the Nittany Lions 22-16 overall for the game, including 14-9 in the second half. Corner kicks were in favor of the Cavaliers, 6-5, while saves were even at four apiece. Virginia recorded 10 fouls, while Penn State had four, all of which came in the second half.
The Nittany Lions' season ends as a successful one on record as Penn State captured its 12th-straight Big Ten Championship and 15th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance. The game was the final one for seniors Tara Davies, Maura Ryan, Naeher, Rago, Schoepfer, and Watts. Virginia moves on to play the winner of the UCLA/San Diego State game.
--NITTANY LIONS--