Aug 16, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Senior forward Maya Hayes (West Orange, N.J.) and sophomore forward Mallory Weber (Novi, Mich.) posted two goals apiece to lead the No. 4 Penn State women's soccer team to a 5-2 exhibition win over the Midshipmen of Navy on Friday night at Jeffrey Field. The two squads played three 30-minute periods in the first event at Jeffrey Field of the 2013-14 sports campaign.
"The players love seeing the fans come out and it is so nice to be back on our home field," said Nittany Lion head coach Erica Walsh. "The first 30 minutes, I thought we did a good job of putting the ball in the back of the net and I thought we looked sharp. The big thing was just looking for some different combinations tonight, for the players that made the players around them a little bit better."
The Nittany Lions came out firing on all cylinders, netting three goals in the first period. Weber posted the first goal of the contest on an assist from Emily Hurd (Sammamish, Wash.) in the 11th minute. Hayes followed with an unassisted goal in the 21st minute and senior forward Tani Costa (Honolulu, Hawaii) closed out the period with a goal in the 26th minute, assisted by Hayes.
"It is no surprise to see the goal scorers, Mallory Weber, Tani Costa and Maya Hayes," said Walsh. "Those are some typical names that you're going to see in the box score. We've got some wonderful combination play already between those players and, in addition, we've got Taylor Schram."
Weber ripped another one in on an assist from Hayes to start the second period. The duo then switched roles as Weber assisted Hayes on a goal at the 49 minute mark. Lexi Ricketts got Navy on the board after netting an unassisted goal in the 52nd minute.
Navy forward Ashlynn Soellner capped the scoring in the 76th minute with an unassisted goal to put the final score at 5-2.
The Nittany Lions open up the regular season at home next Friday against non-conference rival West Virginia as a part of the Penn State Invitational. The match is set for a 7:30 p.m. start at Jeffrey Field.