Aug. 26, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Sixth-ranked Penn State women's soccer (3-1-0) knocked off the Central Michigan Chippewas by a score of 5-0 on Sunday afternoon at Jeffrey Field. Despite allowing 21 shots to the Chippewas, the Nittany Lions managed to score four first half goals, including two from senior Christine Nairn (Arnold, Pa.), to create early separation.
Freshman Mallory Weber (Novi, Mich.) was the first one to put Penn State on the board as she netted her fourth goal of the season. Nairn would score the next two, with her first goal coming from nearly 35 yards out. Nairn's five goals on the season already eclipse her total from last year. The senior also was credited with an assist on Weber's goal.
Penn State's final goal of the first half came from sophomore Erin Kehoe (Crystal, Ill.). Freshman Jenna Kalwa (Pennington, N.J.) tallied her first career goal, which came in the second half from about 30 yards out. Penn State has tallied 15 goals through its first four contests this season.
In the 14th minute, Central Michigan brought a scare as Jennifer Gassman had a clean look on net. Senior Erin McNulty (Winnipeg, Manitoba), who made four saves in goal, had a nice save as she deflected it to the right side of the net. Gassman garnered the rebound and got the ball past McNulty. However, sophomore Kori Chapic (Novelty, Ohio) made a nice defensive save to keep the game tied at zero.
Shortly afterwards, Weber put the Nittany Lions on the board. Nairn won a ball and took it to the far corner of the field, where she played a beautiful ball into the middle. Weber headed it back post to give the Nittany Lions a 1-0 advantage.
Nairn's two goals came within three minutes of each other. The first one for the senior was a beauty, as she found some space on the right side of the field about 35 yards out. She struck it with her left foot and played it back post. The ball struck the post in trickled in to the near side for the score and 2-0 lead for Penn State. Just three minutes later in the 26th minute, Nairn netted her fifth goal of the season on a shot from the 18 on the near post side that caught the back post side netting.
The Nittany Lions went up 4-0 with 11 minutes remaining. Sophomore Kindrah Kohne (Homer, N.Y.) crossed a ball in to Kehoe, where she finished to give the Nittany Lions a 4-0 edge.
Kalwa's first career goal came similar to Nairn's first goal of the match. The freshman found space approximately 30 yards out and in the middle. She took a crack at it and found the back of the net. Kalwa became the eighth Nittany Lion to score a goal this season.
Penn State will have the week off before heading to West Virginia for the WVU 90 Minute Classic. The Nittany Lions take on West Virginia on Friday at 7 p.m. followed by Pittsburgh on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
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