UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 11 Penn State women's soccer team (4-2-0) captured a 4-0 victory over the Syracuse Orange (3-3-0) in a non-conference contest Thursday evening at Jeffrey Field. Offensively for Penn State, four Nittany Lions each tallied a goal. In addition to her goal in the 49th minute, senior Charlotte Williams (Rochester, N.Y.) chipped in a pair of assists.
"We had a great night out here on Jeffrey Field," head coach Erica Dambach said. "Obviously we put four away and recorded a clean sheet. I thought that the energy was excellent from the team and I am just really proud of the professional performance that I saw from this group tonight."
After 23 minutes of scoreless soccer, sophomore Shea Moyer (Wyomissing, Pa.) netted her second goal of the season with a shot from the top of the box in the 24th minute of play. On the Moyer goal, Kerry Abello (Batavia, Ill.) and Williams were credited with the assists.
With just a few minutes remaining in the first half, Kristin Schnurr (Bristow, Va.) beat the Syracuse defense and Syracuse goalkeeper Jordan Harris for her second goal in 2018. Williams picked up her second of assist of the evening on the Schnurr goal.
Heading into the halftime break, the Nittany Lions outshot the Orange, 14-0, and led 2-0.
During the second half, Penn State extended its lead to 4-0 on goals from Williams and Abello.
Williams netted the first goal of her senior year in the 49th minute with an assist from Frankie Tagliaferri (Colts Neck, N.J.). On the Williams goal, she fired a shot from distance and placed the ball into the upper-left corner of the net to give Penn State a 3-0 lead.
Abello then capped off the scoring for the Nittany Lions on a header from close range. After Emily Ogle (Strongsville, Ohio) played the ball to Moyer, Moyer swung the ball into the box from the right side and Abello then connected on the header to make it 4-0 in the 56th minute.
In net, juniors Amanda Dennis (San Diego, Calif.) and Sarafina Valenti (Bechtelsville, Pa.) combined for another shutout victory in 2018. On the night, both Nittany Lion goalkeepers tallied one save with Dennis playing the first 69:15 and Valenti closing out the contest with the final 20:45 in net.
The Nittany Lions continue their three-game homestand on Sunday, Sept. 9, against No. 6 Virginia (6-0-0). The match is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start Jeffrey Field.
NOTES: Penn State leads the all-time series against Syracuse, 2-0-0…Penn State outshot Syracuse, 23-2…Williams tied a career-best two-assist outing…Williams also moved into a tie for 16th all-time at Penn State in assists with 20...Abello recorded her second game with one-goal and one-assist in the past three games...Penn State is 75-7-7 at Jeffrey Field since the start of the 2011 season...The Nittany Lions have recorded four shutouts in 2018.