Sep 4, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 14 Penn State women's soccer team will host the Boston University Terriers in its final non-conference home match of the season on Friday. The game is slated to begin at 7 p.m. at Jeffrey Field.
Fans in attendance will receive a free Penn State women's soccer crest window decal, while supplies last, and the first of three autograph sessions this season will take place after the match at Little Jeffrey Field. Admission and parking are free for all women's soccer games. Fans are reminded that there is a no bag policy in place on stadium grounds.
Penn State enters Friday's contest with a 2-1-1 record after splitting with No. 5 Virginia and La Salle last weekend. The Lions dropped a road match to the Cavaliers of Virginia last Friday in a 5-1 decision. Senior forward Maya Hayes (West Orange, N.J.) notched the lone PSU goal in the sixth minute before UVA took over, scoring three goals in the first half and two in the second.
The Blue and White turned it around on Sunday, upending La Salle 5-1. Hayes started it off again for the Lions, netting the first goal of the contest in the 34th minute. Sophomore Raquel Rodriguez (San Jose, Costa Rica) followed with another goal five minutes later and PSU ended the half with 2-0 lead. The Explorers got on the board in the 59th minute to close the gap to 2-1 but did not hold on for long as Tani Costa (Honolulu, Hawaii), Hayes and Taylor Schram (Canonsburg, Pa.) each unloaded goals for Penn State in the final 20 minutes of the match to bring the score to 5-1.
Hayes leads Penn State in goals (5) and points (12) and has also tallied two assists. Schram is second with two goals while Rodriguez, Costa and Mallory Weber (Novi, Mich.) have posted one apiece.
Boston is coming off a successful weekend after tying South Carolina and defeating Northwestern. The Terriers battled South Carolina to a 0-0 draw on Friday before shutting out Northwestern, 2-0, on Sunday. Ana Cuffia, Jenna Fisher and Madison Clemens have each scored one goal for BU with Clare Pleuler, Taylor Krebs and Kylie Strom registering assists.
Penn State is 1-0 against Boston all-time. The Blue and White overpowered the Terriers by a count of 3-0 in their only previous meeting on Sept. 13, 2009. The Nittany Lions are a dominant 27-1-1 against current Patriot League opponents, most recently defeating Bucknell, 3-1, on Oct. 2, 2012.
The Blue and White depart for a three-game road swing next week, traveling to Bucknell on Tuesday, Oklahoma State on Friday and Tulsa on Sunday. Penn State returns to Jeffrey Field on Friday, Sept. 20 for its Big Ten opener against Northwestern.