Jan. 20, 2010
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala--Penn State sophomore defender Lexi Marton (Aurora, Ontario) helped lead the Canadian U-20 team to a 1-0 victory over Costa Riva on Wednesday afternoon. Marton started and played all 90-plus minutes of the team's opening game in the CONCACAF U-20 Championship at Estadio Cementos Progreso.
Behind the strength of a goal by Adriana Leon, the Canadians held off a pesky Costa Rican team to open Group A play at the CONCACAF Championship, which Canada is defending. Marton played central defense for the Maple Leafs, who have won two of the previous three CONCACAF events.
After a 28th-minute goal by Leon, Canada kept the pressure up offensively throughout the later stages of the first half and continuing into the second half. One notable sequence in the second frame saw Marton put a laser of a free kick on target from 30 yards out that required a brilliant save by the Costa Rican goalkeeper. For her efforts, Marton was named the Player of the Match by Canadian officials.
Canada continues Group A play Friday when it takes on Cuba at 3 p.m. ET. The game will be shown live on CONCACAF.com for free. The United States team, which features sophomore midfielder Christine Nairn (Arnold, Md.), will take on Jamaica in Group B tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. on Fox Soccer Channel.
For more information the Penn State Sport Camps 2010 visit http://www.outreach.psu.edu/psu-sport-camps/
For complete coverage of Penn State women's soccer, please visit http://www.GoPSUsports.com/sports/w-soccer.
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