Sept. 9, 2011
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The Penn State women's soccer team battled Central Florida to overtime, but fell 2-1 on Friday evening at Klockner Stadium in the opening match of the Virginia Nike Soccer Classic. Sophomore forward Maya Hayes (West Orange, N.J.) tallied her 10th goal of the season for the Nittany Lions (5-2-0) whose run of five straight wins was snapped.
After a scoreless second half and first overtime period, Nicolette Radovcic scored in the 104th minute on a cross to win the game for UCF (3-1-1). Radovcic also tallied the Knights' first goal in the first half.
Hayes scored in her sixth straight game, her 10th goal of the year in the 10th minute, just 43 seconds after Central Florida took a 1-0 lead. Hayes was able to beat UCF `keeper Aline Reis (six saves) to a through ball from Christine Nairn (Arnold, Md.) for the tally. Nairn's helper was her team-leading sixth of the year and 22nd in her PSU career.
The Knights jumped on the board early as Nicolette Radovcic took care of an errant ball in the back to slot home an empty-net shot just 8:44 into the match. The goal came as even more of a shock to Penn State because Hayes nearly put PSU ahead in the third minute, but her shot went off the post.
For the match, PSU out-shot Central Florida 19-10 overall with a 7-5 advantage in shots on goal. The Nittany Lions had a 4-3 edge in corner kicks, while UCF made six saves to PSU's three.
The Nittany Lions tangle with the No. 7 Cavaliers in the conclusion of the Virginia Nike Soccer Classic on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. The match will be shown live through VirginiaSports.com video streaming and will be accompanied by live stats.
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--NITTANY LIONS--