Nov. 22, 2013
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - It all came down to one goal in the 81st minute on Friday evening as the fourth-seeded Penn State women's soccer team fell to Wake Forest, 1-0, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Each side turned in a tremendous defensive effort but the Lions were unable to find the back of the net, resulting in PSU's third-straight loss to the Demon Deacons.
WFU outshot the Blue and White 14-10 and took five corner kicks to Penn State's four. Ultimately, freshman Sarah Teegarden's first career goal would be the deciding factor as she blasted the ball from 30 yards deep at the 80:20 mark, finding the bottom right corner of the net.
The Nittany Lions outshot Wake Forest 8-6 in the first half but were held to just two attempts after the intermission.
Sophomore Raquel Rodriguez (San Jose, Costa Rica) made the first attempt of the match in the third minute of play. The midfielder fired from just outside of the 18 yard box and put the ball on frame but could not get past WFU goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe, who collected the save.
The Demon Deacons had two solid opportunities early on as well. Riley Ridgik had the ball at the edge of the box and took aim, sending the ball hurling towards the net in the seventh minute and Kim Marshall received the ball inside the box off of a corner just minutes later but PSU keeper Britt Eckerstrom (Germantown, Md.) was in place for both attempts as she collected a pair of saves.
Senior Tani Costa (Honolulu, Hawaii) looked to score in the 26th minute, making an attempt from the middle of the 18 yard box, but Bledsoe was there to grab the save again, keeping the match scoreless.
Wake Forest came close the scoring in the 70th minute as Ridgik pulled Eckerstrom out of the net and sent the ball past her but the ball skipped just wide. The Deacs looked to get on the board again just five minutes later as Annick McBryar booted a low ball from 22 yards out, but Eckerstrom reacted quickly, dropping to the ground to corral the ball.
Costa nearly netted the equalizer for Penn State on the final attempt of the night with just two minutes left in the match. The senior ripped a shot from the top of the 18 with plenty of power but was just off target as the ball sailed right of the net.
The Nittany Lions finish the season out at 15-7-1 overall. They are now 11-5-0 in NCAA second round matches and 37-18-2 in the tournament all-time.