UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Highlighted by senior+ forward Payton Linnehan's second career hat trick, fifth-ranked and second-seeded Penn State roared past the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils by a 7-0 margin in opening round action of the 2023 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship from Jeffrey Field Friday night.
The Nittany Lions christened their 29th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance in style, extending their first-round win streak in the nation's premier postseason event to 14 consecutive victories. PSU has hosted the opening round of the tournament in each of the past 11 seasons excluding the COVID-adjusted 2020-21 spring campaign which was played at neutral sites, improving to 44-7-1 all-time on Jeffrey Field in the postseason. The seven-goal scoring margin brings PSU's all-time NCAA Tournament goal differential in University Park to 162-38.
Penn State saw its season record climb to 14-2-4 overall and 11-1-1 in matches played on Jeffrey Field. The Blue & White picked up a win in their first all-time contest against Central Connecticut State while moving to 3-0 against current members of the Northeast Conference and 2-0 in the NCAA Tournament against current NEC challengers. In defeat, Central Connecticut State concludes its 2023 campaign and drops to 10-5-5 on the year after going undefeated in NEC competition and winning the league's tournament title.
PSU commanded the match from the opening kick, racking up an eye-popping 29-2 differential in total shot attempts, the largest discrepancy on the shot chart for the Nittany Lions since building up a 45-2 margin against the West Chester Golden Rams in the second match of the regular season. Penn State booked 18 shots on goal against the lone Blue Devil on-target attempt, with the Nittany Lions notching their second-highest total of shots on goal this year and most against a Division I opponent. Finally, the Nittany Lions picked up their second-straight win in the corner kick battle and 12th victory in the statistic this season, outpacing CCSU by a 6-2 margin.
Linnehan instantly proved herself as one of the most potent offensive weapons on the pitch, racking up a trio of goals in the first 26 minutes of work. The Douglas, Massachusetts, native recorded the 24th all-time hat trick in Penn State program history and the second of her collegiate career. Linnehan last poured in three goals against LaSalle in regular season action on Aug. 22, 2021. Nittany Lion legend and current star of the NWSL's Portland Thorns, Sam Coffey, tallied the most recent PSU hat trick against Maryland on Oct. 8, 2021.
Penn State's roster poured in seven goals and eight assists for 22 total points scored, matching the most Nittany Lion points this season tallied against West Chester on Aug. 20. Junior defender Mieke Schiemann, senior forward Rebecca Cooke and redshirt sophomore midfielder Julia Raich each managed goals in the run of play, while senior+ midfielder Cori Dyke added a goal for her fifth of the season on a penalty kick in the first half. Dyke, redshirt junior forward Kaitlyn MacBean and senior forward Elle Kershner each led the way in the passing game with a pair of assists apiece while freshman defender Kaelyn Wolfe and senior+ defender Michela Agresti each mustered assists of their own.
Between the pipes, Penn State relied on a three-keeper platoon for the third time in the 2023 season, with graduate Katherine Asman, redshirt freshman Mackenzie Gress and redshirt sophomore Amanda Poorbaugh working together for the combined shutout. Asman hauled in the only save of the match for the Nittany Lions in the first half of work, booking her 14th individual victory of the season and 53rd career win. For Central Connecticut State, freshman keeper Melina Ford was saddled with the loss after playing the first 45 minutes and logging four saves. Senior Caitlyn Murphy went the rest of the way for the Blue Devils, recording seven stops in the contest.
A relatively quiet opening five minutes set the stage for what would become Penn State's most dominant half of the 2023 campaign. Linnehan's match-winning goal and first score of the night came in the sixth, as Wolfe and MacBean executed a brilliant passing combination on the left side of the pitch. Wolfe drove the ball into the 18 and delivered a pass to Linnehan, whose one-time left-booted blast screamed its way into the top of the net. Moments later, the Blue & White won a key corner kick opportunity, with Dyke taking command of the ball in the far corner. Her service sailed into the box and was headed back by Agresti, who found Linnehan for an awe-striking right-booted blast at the edge of the box that sailed into the top right corner.
Linnehan picked up her hat trick a mere 17 minutes later, as MacBean collected the ball on the lefthand side of the penalty area and geared up for a shot attempt. Her try was saved by the Blue Devil keeper, but Linnehan was in the right place at the right time to clean up the rebound with her left foot into the bottom left corner of the goal. With the 3-0 lead in hand, PSU made multiple substitutions but managed to tack on another score in the 32nd minute. The Nittany Lions won a free kick on the righthand corner of the penalty box, where Dyke crushed a brilliant service inside the six for Schiemann, who cleaned things up with her right boot into the back left corner. Penn State's fifth and final goal of the half came in the 36th minute when Cooke won a penalty for the Blue & White and Dyke converted on the try.
Leading by five goals after the intermission, Penn State returned to its attacking ways as the second period got underway, finding the back of the net once again in the 49th. Cooke won yet another penalty kick for the Nittany Lions, but Kershner's attempt was saved by the Blue Devil keeper just outside the left edge of the goal mouth. The ball rebounded off her glove and was cleaned up by Raich, who sent a left-footed ball between the keeper's legs for goal number six. PSU closed the scoring out in the 53rd minute when Kershner's drive down the left side of the pitch culminated in a service into the box for Cooke. The Dublin, Ireland, native timed her jump and headed the ball past the CCSU keeper to finalize the 7-0 Nittany Lion score.
SCORING SUMMARY
6' – Wolfe and MacBean executed a brilliant passing combination on the left side of the pitch. Wolfe drove the ball into the 18 and delivered a pass to Linnehan, whose one-time left-booted blast screamed its way into the top of the net. PSU 1, CCSU 0
9' – Dyke delivered a service from the far corner that sailed into the box and was headed back by Agresti, who found Linnehan for an awe-striking right-booted blast at the edge of the 18 that sailed into the top right corner of the goal. PSU 2, CCSU 0
26' – MacBean collected the ball on the lefthand side of the penalty area and geared up for a shot attempt. Her try was saved by the Blue Devil keeper, but Linnehan was in the right place at the right time to clean up the rebound with her left foot into the bottom left corner of the goal. PSU 3, CCSU 0
32' – Dyke crushed a brilliant set-piece service inside the six for Schiemann, who cleaned things up with her right boot into the back left corner. PSU 4, CCSU 0
36' – Cooke won a penalty for the Blue & White and Dyke converted on the try. PSU 5, CCSU 0
49' – Cooke won yet another penalty kick for the Nittany Lions, but Kershner's attempt was saved by the Blue Devil keeper just outside the left edge of the goal mouth. The ball rebounded off her glove and was cleaned up by Raich, who sent a left-footed ball between the keeper's legs. PSU 6, CCSU 0
53' – Kershner's drive down the left side of the pitch culminated in a service into the box for Cooke. The Dublin, Ireland, native timed her jump and headed the ball past the CCSU keeper. PSU 7, CCSU 0
UP NEXT
Fifth-ranked and second-seeded Penn State women's soccer continues its run in the 2023 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship, as the Blue & White play host to either seventh-seeded Santa Clara or Arizona State next Friday, Nov. 17 on Jeffrey Field. The Nittany Lions will learn their second-round opponent after the Broncos and Sun Devils meet in opening-round competition on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 4 p.m. (ET) in Santa Clara. Jeffrey Field is guaranteed to host a pair of second-round matchups next Friday, in addition to a third-round match on Sunday, Nov. 19. Kickoff times will be announced when they become available.
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Visit GoPSUSports.com for more information on Penn State women's soccer. Fans can keep up to date with the Nittany Lion women's soccer team on X and Instagram @PennStateWSOC, in addition to the team's Facebook page at /PSUWomensSoccer.
The 30th Season of Penn State women's soccer is presented by the Smeal College of Business.
