UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The No. 2 seed Penn State women's soccer program defeated Quinnipiac 4-1 in the NCAA Championship First Round on Sunday afternoon at Jeffrey Field.
In their first ever matchup with the Bobcats, the Nittany Lions posted a season-high 25 shots and limited Quinnipiac to just four shots, the least PSU has allowed all year.
Four different Nittany Lions scored goals, and senior+ Penelope Hocking assisted on two of them.
Senior Payton Linnehan made a game-high five shots and scored what would be the game-winner in the 50th minute after Quinnipiac tied the match at 1-1 in the 46th.
"The NCAA Tournament is all about surviving and advancing," Linnehan said. "Every team has an equal chance, and even though we've never played this team before, we have a very different style of play. They're coming at us with everything they have, so every goal is super important.
"We had a little huddle after their score and there was no doubt that we were still going to win this game. So, we came after them immediately, and we got one in the back of the net and then kept getting more."
Penn State's four goals are the second-most they have posted since the Nittany Lions beat Illinois 5-0 on Sept. 25 at Jeffrey Field.
With the win, PSU is now 14-4-3 and advances to the NCAA Second Round where they will host No. 7 seed West Virginia (11-4-7) who took down Virginia Tech 2-0 in their first-round match.
Quinnipiac finishes their season 15-3-1.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Penn State looked to make a statement early with three shots in the first ten minutes. At the 20-minute mark, Linnehan would make a series of shots, with one blocked and the other two saved by Quinnipiac's junior Sofia Lospinoso.
Just two minutes later, Linnehan would receive a pass from Hocking and deliver a cross to senior Kate Wiesner who drilled in a shot not far from the penalty spot for the first goal of the match.
The Bobcats did not make their first shot of the game until the 43rd minute, but redshirt senior keeper Katherine Asman easily wrapped up the slow bouncer.
56 seconds into the second half, Qunnipiac scored the equalizer on an arcing shot from 20 yards out.
The Bobcats did not have much time to celebrate as Linnehan would score the eventual game-winner four minutes later assisted by Hocking.
In the 65th minute, Hocking found the net herself. Receiving a beautiful ball from senior+ Jillian Jennings in the backfield, Hocking went one-on-one with the keeper and slotted one past using her left foot for the 3-1 advantage.
Penn State added further insurance in the 78th minute as senior+ Rachel Wasserman sent in a corner to the box. It was headed out by a Bobcat, but right to senior Cori Dyke who took the shot and made it in while the keeper could not see through the congested box.
Keeper Asman finished the match with three saves, and senior+ Morgan Messner finished out the last seven minutes in goal not allowing a score.
The Nittany Lions did well to shutdown junior Rebecca Cooke, who came into the match leading the nation with 22 goals. Cooke made just one shot, and for the second time this season, she did not finish the match with a goal or assist.
NEXT UP
Penn State will host the NCAA Second and Third Rounds at Jeffrey Field. The Nittany Lions will next face West Virginia at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 18 in the Second Round. The winner of that match will face the winner of Xavier and No. 3 seed Virginia.
