Nov. 21, 2014
| 1 | 0 |
| Jeffrey Field | University Park, Pa. | |
| POST GAME LINKS |
| Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF) Photo Gallery |
| FINAL STATISTICS |
University Park, Pa.; Nov. 21, 2014 - A strong effort by the Nittany Lions' backline, yielding Britt Eckerstrom's (Germantown, Md.) eighth clean sheet of the year, led the Penn State women's soccer team to a 1-0 NCAA Tournament second round win over UConn on Friday.
The Nittany Lions (19-3-0) will face Virginia Tech, who topped Georgetown 4-3 earlier in the day, on Sunday at 1 p.m. in third round action at Jeffrey Field.
"I was really proud of the effort right from the opening whistle," head coach Erica Walsh said. "I thought we went after them and our mentality was fantastic. We were fortunate to get a shutout on Jeffrey Field."
Penn State's leading scorer Frannie Crouse (Greensburg, Pa.) got the golden goal, her 10th of the year, just 6:36 into the match. After a few passes in the back field, Kori Chapic (Russell, Ohio) centered a pass from outside the box and found Crouse at the nearside post, who headed in the 1-0 score.
Said Crouse of the goal, "Chapic was lined up and I saw that the back post was going to be open. I went up there and thankfully, I got there first."
The Nittany Lions' best look after the early marker came 63 minutes into the match. A UConn (14-5-5) defender nicked Crouse's foot as she streaked through the attacking third, forcing her to stumble and lose the ball. Mallory Weber (Novi, Mich.), who had joined Crouse on the rush, picked up the ball 20 yards out but sent it sailing high and wide.
Eckerstrom (19-3) made five saves for her eighth shutout this season. "The defense played really well tonight," Eckerstrom said. "We're so connected right now, playing as one backline."
In the first game of the day on Jeffrey Field, Virginia Tech (16-5-0) bested Georgetown (11-5-6) with a tally just 30 seconds into overtime for the 4-3 victory.
"Overall, Virginia Tech is big, strong, fast and aggressive and unlike any team we've played in a while," Walsh said. "Sunday will be a fun and new challenge but that's what we love about the NCAA Tournament."