UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 14 Penn State women's soccer team (16-5-1) netted a 4-1 victory over the Bowling Green Falcons (14-5-3) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday evening at Jeffrey Field. Four Nittany Lion seniors each tallied a goal in the contest.
"Really proud of the team tonight," head coach Erica Dambach said. "I thought Bowling Green, we had watched them on film and had a lot of respect for them, but seeing them on Jeffrey Field, I really thought they put up a good fight and were able to break us down at times and expose us in some different areas, but, eventually, I think this team continued to battle. Obviously, we had four seniors put balls in the back of the net which is awesome, to be on Jeffrey field, to experience that and just really proud of the group and excited to continue on."
The Nittany Lions got on the board early in the match as Charlotte Williams tallied her fourth goal of the season in the 10th minute of play. On the goal, Williams lined up a shot from the top of the box and placed the ball into the bottom-left corner of the net.
Penn State then extended its lead to 2-0 on Alina Ortega Jurado's first goal of 2018 in the 14th minute. On the goal, Williams played the ball into the box from the left side of the field to Ortega Jurado, who then re-directed the ball past goalkeeper Kathleen Duwve.
Trailing 2-0, Erica Hubert, the 2018 Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Year, put the Falcons on the board in the 21st minute with her 13th goal of the year. From inside the right side of the box, Hubert placed a shot into the upper-left corner of the net to make it a 2-1 contest.
With the first 45 minutes of play in the books, Penn State held a 2-1 lead and a shot advantage of 14-3 over Bowling Green.
The Nittany Lions continued their offensive press in the second half by outshooting the Falcons, 11-5, over the final 45 minutes of action.
The second half of play saw goals from Marissa Sheva and Emily Ogle to secure the 4-1 victory for the Blue & White.
In the 65th minute, the Nittany Lions made it a 3-1 contest after Sheva connected on her third goal of the season. On the play, Ortega Jurado played the ball into the box on a set piece, but the ball was misplayed by Duwve. With the ball loose on the ground, Sheva put home her third goal of 2018.
The final tally of the evening came in the 71st minute on a penalty kick conversion from Ogle.
In net, Amanda Dennis made a pair of saves for the Nittany Lions in 82:40 of play for her 16th win of the season.
The No. 14 Nittany Lions will now play No. 18, and third-seeded, South Carolina on Friday, Nov. 16, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The location and time of that match will be announced at a later date.
NOTES: Penn State won the first-ever match between the two teams…Penn State outshot Bowling Green, 25-8…Ogle netted the 20th goal of her career, which is tied for 22nd all-time at Penn State (Lauren Olmsted – 1994-97)…Ogle started the 97th match of her career…Since 2002, only Whitney Church (8,243) has played more minutes at Penn State than Ogle (7,997)...Coach Dambach picked up her 200th win at Penn State...Penn State improves to 18-3-0 all-time in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and has won 10 straight matches in the first round of the NCAA Tournament...Penn State improves to 51-21-2 all-time in the NCAA Tournament...Penn State is now 39-6-1 in the NCAA Tournament at Jeffrey Field...Penn State is now 11-0-0 when scoring at least two goals this season...Penn State improves to 13-0-0 when scoring first this season...Penn State is 10-0-1 in its last 11 matches...Williams tallied the 24th assist of her career, which is tied for 14th all-time at Penn State (Taylor Schram - 2010-13).