Aug. 20, 2011
PALO ALTO, Calif. - Penn State fell short in its upset bid of No. 2 Stanford in a 4-0 loss to the Cardinal. PSU dropped its first season-opening match since 2007 as the Cardinal tallied four goals in the final 45:33.
Penn State (0-1-0) played a nearly even match with the two-time national finalists and looked to be clear of damage entering halftime. Unfortunately, a Cam Levin cross found Mahiah Nogueira's head for a 1-0 lead just 33 seconds short of the halftime whistle. Prior to that moment, PSU nearly went ahead in the 27th minute as Christine Nairn (Arnold, Md.) hit the crossbar when she was left along from 12 yards out in the box.
The Nittany Lions would be undone by another miscue when Lindsay Taylor slipped behind the defense and beat `keeper Erin McNulty (Winnipeg, Manitoba) on the near post for a 2-0 lead just 1:07 into the second half. After another missed opportunity when Nairn's free kick fell into the hands of goalkeeper Lindsay Dickerson (four saves) and Kori Chapic's (Novelty, Ohio) header skimmed wide, Stanford (1-0-0) struck again. Mexican National Teamer Teresa Noyola scored on a combo play to go up 3-0 in the 55th minute.
Chapic had another opportunity to put PSU on the board in the 63rd, but Dickerson was again up to the task on a 20-yard effort. Marjani Hing-Glover capped the scoring on an errant header in the 68th minute for the final 4-0 lead. PSU's best chance in the second half game when Chapic's header off a Nairn corner kick was stopped on the far post by a Cardinal defender for a team save.
McNulty made four saves for Penn State in her debut for the Blue and White. Chapic, Emily Hurd (Sammamish, Wash.) and Whitney Church (Ashburn, Va.) also made their first appearances for Penn State. The Nittany Lions move on to Sunday's match to take on Nevada at 2:00 p.m. ET. Nevada fell to Pacific 3-0 in Stockton, Calif. PSU and the Wolf Pack meet at West Valley College in Saratoga to round out the California road swing. For complete coverage of Penn State women's soccer, please visit GoPSUsports.com. Follow Penn State women's soccer on Twitter: @PSUWomensSoccer. Follow Penn State women's soccer on Facebook: Facebook.com/PSUWomensSoccer. Check Penn State's YouTube page: YouTube/GoPSUTV.
--NITTANY LIONS--