UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 6 Penn State Nittany Lions women's soccer team was bested by the No. 3 Stanford Cardinal on Friday night. The Cardinal scored a goal in each half to top the Nittany Lions 2-1.
RECAP
The Nittany Lions held the early advantage in possession and pushed the pace in early portion of the game.
Sam Coffey struck the first shot of the game, nearly giving the Nittany Lions the lead. A diving save by the Stanford goalkeeper kept the scored knotted at 0-0.
The Cardinal managed the early push by the Nittany Lions and responded with a run of their own. In the 16th minute of action, Catarina Macario gave the Cardinal a 1-0 lead on a shot from 15 yards out into the top right corner of the goal.
The Penn State offense continued to pressure the Cardinal defense. Coffey tried her luck a second time but was turned away again by the Stanford goalie.
Stanford looked to extend its lead in the 30th minute. The Cardinal tallied three shots in 45 seconds of action but could not extend their lead.
Freshman Kate Wiesner knotted the game in the 33rd minute. Wiesner took the ball inside midfield and carried the ball just outside of the 18-yard box. Wiesner drilled a shot in the bottom left corner of the goal to tie the match at 1-1.
The Cardinal and Nittany Lions went into the half still tied at 1-1.
Three minutes into the second half, Catarina Macario scored her second goal of the game to give the Cardinal a 2-1 lead. The Cardinal executed a give and goal inside the box and Macario found the back of the net.
Amanda Dennis made a pair of saves to keep the score 2-1 and gave the Nittany Lions a chance to tie the game.
Despite their best efforts, the Nittany Lions could not score the equalizer and fell to the Cardinal 2-1.
"I was so proud of the way our team competed tonight against a very talented Stanford team. The atmosphere was electric in front of 5,000+ fans and it was a great night of soccer in Happy Valley. We're looking forward to learning from tonight and moving forward." Head coach Erica Dambach said of her team's performance.
NOTES
The Nittany Lions and Cardinal played in front of 5,238 people on Friday night. This was the second-largest crowd in Jeffrey Field history.
This was the fourth-consecutive season the Nittany Lions have opened the season against a top-10 opponent.
Penn State continues its opening weekend on Sunday, August 25 at 2:30 p.m. against Hofstra.
