UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 14 Penn State women's soccer program tied No. 19 Georgetown 2-2 in the teams' season opener on Thursday at Jeffrey Field.
Back-and-forth action dominated the night as Georgetown scored the first and third goals with Penn State responding to each in turn with goals from redshirt senior Ally Schlegel and fifth-year senior Rachel Wasserman.
"It was an electric opening night with an incredible crowd," said Penn State head coach Erica Dambach. "It was a good performance by both teams, but we've got to take advantage of our chances.
"I'm proud of the way we battled back down a goal twice, and I'm proud of the character of our group. I feel like we left an opportunity out there tonight, but it's opening night, and I'm pretty happy with where we are."
The last time Penn State drew with an opponent in their season opener was in 2019 when the Nittany Lions hosted West Virginia and tied 1-1 after two overtime periods.
With new NCAA rules instituted this season, overtime has been eliminated during the regular season, so games tied at the end of regulation result in a draw.
The Nittany Lions will have another chance to secure a win on Sunday as they host Duquesne at 1 p.m. on Jeffrey Field.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Penn State plenty of looks to start the match but struggled early with offside calls.
Georgetown would end up scoring the first goal of the match in the 19th minute.
17 minutes later, junior Natalie Wilson sent a long through ball to fifth-year senior Penelope Hocking who attempted a shot but collided with the goalkeeper to draw the yellow card and penalty kick attempt.
Schlegel came up big to score the first goal of the season and the 34th of her career on the penalty kick try and tied the match at 1-1 where the game remained locked until the second half.
In the 56th minute, the Hoyas scored on a shot taken just inside the penalty area. They remained ahead 2-1 until freshman Amelia White connected with Wasserman in the 71st minute to tie it at 2-2.
With just under 20 minutes to play, White sent another ball into the box this time kicked into the back of the net by Schlegel, but the goal was called back due to offsides.
As the match entered the 90th minute, Schlegel drew a foul and free kick opportunity. Hocking took a solid shot, but the game-winner hit the crossbar as time expired for the draw.
The Penn State women's soccer season is presented by the Smeal College of Business.
