Sept. 5, 2014
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| Koskinen Stadium | Durham, N.C. | |
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DURHAM, N.C. - An outstanding performance by Britt Eckerstrom (Germantown, Md.) wasn't enough to give the Penn State women's soccer team a win, as the Nittany Lions fell in double overtime, 1-0, to North Carolina on Friday.
The redshirt junior made a career-high 10 saves, keeping the game scoreless for over 102 minutes of play. "Britt played very well," head coach Erica Walsh said. "She held the ball extremely well and I think the defense did a good job of not giving away any close range chances. Britt did well on everything she should've handled and she looked like a top-class goalkeeper tonight."
Penn State (3-1-0) helped Eckerstrom's showing, however, taking 15 shots.
At the 35-minute mark, Frannie Crouse (Greensburg, Pa.) had a golden opportunity to put one on the board for the Lions. She broke away from a pair of North Carolina (2-2-1) defenders and ripped a shot over the crossbar from the top of the 18-yard box.
Penn State's offense continued to generate opportunities as the clock wound down in regulation. With 18 minutes left in the second half, Megan Schafer (Lebanon, Pa.) drove through a Tar Heel collapsing defense to get a shot off, but the ball sailed over the net.
At 81:56, Crouse had another chance to break the scoreless tie. In tight coverage about 12 yards in front of the farside post, the freshman sliced the ball towards the net but it flew high above Lindsey Harris's goal.
Eckerstrom was a dominant presence throughout the game and continued her stellar play in the first overtime period. With 3:40 left in the period, North Carolina's Joanna Boyles sliced the ball to Eckerstrom but she tipped it over the net.
Emily Ogle (Strongsville, Ohio) tried to break through with a great chance of her own. With under a minute to go in the first overtime period, she danced through the Tar Heel defense but was unable to settle the ball and sliced it high for one of Penn State's best opportunities of the first overtime period.
Just over 102 minutes into the match, however, North Carolina scored the lone goal of the match and the game winner. Amber Munerlyn broke away from Penn State's defense and, from the nearside post, sent the ball across and in to the net for the 1-0 win.
"We preach about being blue collar and I thought they brought a real blue collar mentality today," Walsh said.
The Nittany Lions continue play at the Duke Nike Classic with a 2:30 match on Sun., Sept. 7 against Duke.
"Against good teams, you're only going to have a few chances and you need to put those away," Walsh said. "Sometimes you're on top of your opponent, sometimes, they're on top of you and you have to find a way to shift that flow. I think our players walked away (from tonight) feeling like they can compete with anyone."