Aug. 26, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's soccer team scored early and often as it trounced No. 17 West Virginia, 5-0, at Jeffrey Field on Friday night. PSU put three on the board in the first eight minutes of play. Taylor Schram (Canonsburg, Pa.) notched a five-point night with three assists as the Nittany Lions set a new school record for most helpers in a game with nine. Midfielders Maddy Evans (Glenside, Pa.) and Jess Rosenbluth (Gladwyne, Pa.) tallied three-point evenings, netting the first two goals to shock the Mountaineers.
"That's the start you always hope for, that's a dream start," Head coach Erica Walsh said of the early 3-0 lead. "Finishing is what we did so well today: three chances, three goals and is a credit to these players tonight."
Penn State (2-1-0) wasted no time with the offensive onslaught as a combination play from Christine Nairn (Arnold, Md.) and Rosenbluth on the left wing set up Evans just ten yards from net in the first 62 seconds of the game. Evans' marker was the second-fastest goal in program history, just six second short of Tiffany Weimer's first-minute strike against USC in 2006. Last season, Nairn scored 63 seconds into a match at Connecticut.
Evans and Schram connected on a combination play on the opposite side of the field just four minutes later as Rosenbluth slotted home the easy finish from five yards away on the short cross by Evans.
The Nittany Lions' offensive push continued as headed on a punt from goalkeeper Erin McNulty (Winnipeg, Manitoba) as Maya Hayes (West Orange, N.J.) darted through the West Virginia (1-2-0) defense for a three-goal lead 7:51 into the game.
Following the initial scoring output, the game settled down and West Virginia tried to mount an attack. The Mountaineers' best scoring opportunity came in the 12th minute as Blake Miller sent a rocket to net from 20 yards out, but McNulty was up to the task, making one of her four saves on the night. The three goals WVU allowed were the most given up in the first half since November 2009 in an NCAA Tournament loss at Wake Forest.
Despite having a three-goal lead, Penn State only out-shot WVU 9-8 as the Mountaineers took five corner kicks to PSU's two. Nevertheless, the Nittany Lions would regain its footing in the match as Nairn sent in her second assist of the night to a rushing Schram who tucked the ball away in the lower right in the 65th minute to ice the game.
The excitement wasn't done yet because Bri Garcia sent a ball to Schram in the 67th minute as the sophomore coolly back-heeled a through ball to Hayes for the forward's first multi-goal effort. That was all the scoring the Nittany Lions would need as Penn State notched five goals on nine assists for the largest margin of victory in a win over West Virginia.
The five tallies tied the most goals Penn State has ever scored against the Mountaineers matching a 5-2 win on November 13, 2005. The victory also snapped a three-game losing streak to WVU on Jeffrey Field and cemented PSU's second win in three tries against the `neers.
Schram's three-assist evening set a new personal record and was the most assists since Nairn tallied three of her own vs. Purdue on Nov. 1, 2009. It was the first five-point night since sidelined Tani Costa (Honolulu, Hawaii) scored six vs. Indiana last year on Oct. 28.
PSU returns to Jeffrey Field and looks to take the Penn State Invitational crown when it takes on Richmond at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. The Spiders finished in a 1-1 double-overtime deadlock with George Mason on Friday evening.
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--NITTANY LIONS--