Nov. 11, 2016
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Five Nittany Lions scored en route to Penn State's 6-0 victory over the Bucknell Bison in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament Friday night at Jeffrey Field.
"I just want to start off by saying congratulations to Bucknell on an amazing season," head coach Erica Dambach said. "It is obviously a great accomplishment to win the Patriot League, and they certainly came in here and played very well tonight. I also want to say that obviously this is the perfect way to end the home season on Jeffrey Field, in front of another great crowd, and with Nickolette Driesse having the game winner on her final home game in her senior year. We also had a shutout so I think that we we're firing on all cylinders tonight."
Behind goals from Nickolette Driesse (Wayne, N.J.) and Charlotte Williams (Rochester, N.Y.), the Nittany Lions (12-4-4) entered halftime with a 2-0 lead. Driesse put the Nittany Lions up 1-0 over the Bison (16-2-2) during the 15th minute of play and Williams added to Penn State's lead in the 41st minute.
Following halftime, the Penn State offense picked up where it left off in the first half as Haleigh Echard (Lebanon, Pa.) gave the Nittany Lions a 3-0 lead just 47 seconds into the second half. From near the end line on the left side of the field, Echard played the ball into the penalty area. The ball ended up hitting the right post and bouncing into the back of the net.
Twelve minutes after she scored the game's third goal, Echard recorded an assist on the game's fourth goal. After Echard's initial shot was saved by Bucknell goalkeeper Jessica Ratner, sophomore Marissa Sheva (Sellersville, Pa.) fired home the ball on a rebound from close range to make it 4-0 PSU at 57:39.
Williams then added to the Nittany Lion tally on her second goal of the evening, and her sixth of the year, in the 70th minute. On Williams' goal, junior Megan Schafer (Langhorne, Pa.) tallied her fifth assist of the year. Schafer then netted her sixth goal of the year in the 81st minute to give the Nittany Lions a 6-0 lead.
In net for the Nittany Lions, freshman Amanda Dennis (San Diego, Calif.) played 79:17 minutes before classmate Sarafina Valenti (Bechtelsville, Pa.) kept the Nittany Lion shutout intact over the final 10:43 of play. Dennis recorded three saves, while Valenti did not have to make a save.
The Nittany Lions will take on No. 3 seed Virginia in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Visit GoPSUsports.com for more information about the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
NOTES: Penn State leads the all-time series against Bucknell, 19-0-1, which includes six-straight wins...Penn State and Bucknell have met three times in the NCAA Tournament with the Nittany Lions winning all three matches (2001, 2005 & 2016)...Penn State extended its first round winning streak to eight games...Penn State is now 16-3 all-time in the first round of the NCAA Tournament...Penn State is 411-107-33 in program history...Penn State is 224-26-12 all-time at Jeffrey Field...Penn State is 64-6-6 at Jeffrey Field since the start of the 2011 season...Penn State improved to 9-2-2 at Jeffrey Field in 2016...Penn State improves to 10-1-1 when scoring two-or-more goals this season...Megan Schafer netted her 25th career goal, which moved her into a tie for 17th all-time at PSU (Tani Costa)...Charlotte Williams tallied her second two-goal game this season (Hofstra)...Frannie Crouse recorded two assists in the game, which tied a career-best (Boston U. - Nov. 20, 2015)...Crouse remains 15th all-time in points scored at PSU (78)...The Nittany Lions recorded their ninth shutout of the season...Penn State outshot Bucknell, 19-5.