CHARLOTESVILLE, Va. – The #14 Penn State women's soccer team topped #3 Virginia 4-2 on Thursday night. The Nittany Lions picked up its first win over Virginia since 2012 and improved to 8-7-1 all-time against the Cavaliers.
How it Happened
Goalkeeper Kat Asman tuned in a career-performance as the redshirt-junior made nine saves with five coming in the first half.
The Nittany Lions took the lead as Sam Coffey netted her third goal of the season to give Penn State a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute. Payton Linnehan was awarded the assist, her third of the season.
Two minutes later, Virginia tied the game at 1-1. Following the goal, Asman did not concede a goal over the remaining 19 minutes of the half despite the Cavaliers pressing the back line.
In the 38th minute, Linnehan took advantage of a turnover by the Cavalier center back and slotted her shot past the Virginia keeper to give the Nittany Lions a 2-1 lead.
Less than two minutes after Linnehan's goal, Coffey sent a swinging cross into the box. Ally Schlegel outleapt the Virignia defenders and headed the ball into the back of the net to give Penn State a two-goal advantage.
The Nittany Lions went into the half leading 3-1. Prior to tonight's match, Virginia had allowed just one goal in their first six matches.
In the second half, the Nittany Lion defense was tested as the Cavaliers recorded 14 shots in the second half.
Virginia cut the Nittany Lions lead as Diana Ordonez scored her second goal of the match on a header from the middle of the box.
In the 61st minute, the Nittany Lions netted another goal to push the lead back to two.
Over the remaining 29 minutes of action, nine shots as they attempted to cut into Penn State's lead. The Penn State defense did not allow any uncontested shots and forced the UVA offense to take many of these shots from outside of the box.
As the clock reached the 87th minute, Asman collected her ninth save to set her new career-high.
The Nittany Lions held the two-goal lead to collect their fifth win of the season.
Additional Notes
The 4-2 win over Virginia improved Penn State to 8-7-1 all-time against the Cavaliers. The win also snapped a five-match winning streak for Virginia.
It was the first win over a top 10 team since August 17, 2018 when the Nittany Lion beat #9 West Virginia, 1-0.
Payton Linnehan is tied for the Big Ten lead with six goals and is second in points with 15.
It is the eighth time in Sam Coffey's Nittany Lion career she has scored at least one goal and recorded at least one assist in the same game.
Penn State is outscoring its opponents 16-6 on the season and scored four goals in a match for the second time this season.
The Penn State women's soccer season is presented by the Smeal College of Business.
