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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Sophomore Charlotte Williams (Rochester, N.Y.) netted a pair of first-half goals to lead the No. 2 Penn State women's soccer team to a 3-1 victory over the Hofstra Pride Sunday afternoon at Jeffrey Field. With the victory, the Penn State women's soccer team captured win No. 400 in program history.
"Obviously it is our first Sunday match, and Sunday's always feel a little bit different than Friday nights especially after the largest crowd we ever had here at Jeffrey Field," head coach Erica Dambach said. "But the team came out and I thought we looked pretty sharp early on and then started to die off. We had a huge impact from our reserves today, they are story I would take out of today as well as Charlotte Williams, obviously. But I thought our reserves were the difference in this match."
The Hofstra Pride (1-1-0) got on the board at 7:12 into the contest off a corner kick. Off a Noriana Radwan corner kick, the ball was misplayed by the Nittany Lion defense and found the back of the net for the early 1-0 Hofstra lead.
After allowing the goal by the Pride during the eighth minute of play, the Nittany Lion defense clamped down and did not allow another shot attempt until the 80th minute.
The Nittany Lions (1-0-1) found the equalizer in the 24th minute off of Williams' first goal of the season. From 30 yards out, Nickolette Driesse (Wayne, N.J.) fired a shot on goal, but the ball bounced off the left post and to the feet of Williams. Williams then collected the loose ball from close range and found the back of the net to tie the match at one.
Williams then added her second goal of the afternoon in the 39th minute off a set piece from just outside the Hofstra penalty area. Hofstra's Rhian Cleverly received a red card outside the Hofstra penalty area setting up a set piece for the Blue and White. Williams took the set piece from 20 yards out and placed the ball near the right post and into the back of the net for the 2-1 Nittany Lion lead.
After missing the 2015 season with an injury, redshirt junior Salina Williford (Wayne, Pa.) recorded her first goal of the 2016 campaign during the 84th minute of play. From the right side of the Hofstra penalty area, Williford placed the ball into the left side of the net for the 3-1 Nittany Lion tally. On the Williford goal, freshman Laura Suero (Royersford, Pa.) picked up her first point as a Nittany Lion as she was credited with an assist.
The Nittany Lions ended the contest with a 21-3 shot advantage over the Pride. Freshman goalkeeper Amanda Dennis (San Diego, Calif.) made one save to collect her first win as a Nittany Lion.
The Nittany Lions continue their season-opening homestand Friday, Aug. 26, against the No. 16 BYU Cougars at 7 p.m. Fans are encouraged to wear white to support the Nittany Lions Friday night.
NOTES: The Nittany Lions picked up program victory No. 400 Sunday afternoon...The Nittany Lions are now 400-103-30 all-time...Penn State opened the 2015 season with a 2-1 win over the Hofstra Pride...Penn State improves to 5-0-0 all-time versus Hofstra...Coach Dambach is now 198-78-14 all-time as a head coach...The Nittany Lions improve to 56-4-5 at Jeffrey Field since the start of the 2011 season...Freshman Laura Freigang paced the Nittany Lion offense with six shot attempts...Charlotte Williams tallied her first career multi-goal game...Williams scored three goals during her freshman season in 2015.