Lions Drop Sunday Tilt with Presidents
ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona women's soccer team hosted non-conference opponent Washington & Jefferson College on Sunday afternoon at Spring Run Stadium, where the visiting Presidents handed the Lions a 3-1 loss.
W&J (3-2-1) scored two goals in the first period to go into halftime with a 2-0 advantage. Penn State Altoona (0-6-1) got on the board early in the second half to cut its deficit in half, but the Presidents tacked on an insurance goal to leave with a two-score victory.
Bridget Martin (Manheim, PA/Manheim Central) scored her first collegiate goal for Penn State Altoona, and Grace Turner (Stevensville, MD/Kent Island) picked up her first collegiate point with her assist on the score.
Adeline Baustert (Apollo, PA/Apollo-Ridge) got the nod at goalkeeper for the Lions, making her seventh start of the season and recording four saves while playing the first half. Nicole Schwartz (Clifton, NJ/Passaic County Technical Institute) entered in relief at halftime, playing the second half at keeper and making one save.
W&J struck first at 20:54 following a corner kick. A deflection in the box came straight back to Tori DeVere, who looped a long-range shot from outside the top of the box into the top right corner of the goal to give the Presidents a 1-0 lead.
The visitors increased their advantage to 2-0 in the 37th minute. Kendall Obley found Maura Heberle with a pass in the middle of the field in the Lions' end, and she dribbled through the defense and tucked a shot inside the right post at 36:40.
Penn State Altoona got on the board in the early stages of the second half. Turner pushed the ball up the right side of the field to Martin, who pulled the trigger on a shot from just inside the top right corner of the box. The high shot deflected off of the keeper's hands and into the goal at 54:03, trimming the W&J lead to 2-1.
But the Presidents got that goal back in the 69th minute to boost their lead back to two. Camille Smith found Skylar Bibbee in the middle of the box, and she sent a shot into the bottom right corner of the goal to put W&J up 3-1 at 68:02. The visitors held off the Lions the rest of the way to leave Ivyside with a two-goal win.
Penn State Altoona finished the game with its best offensive numbers of the season, attempting 12 shots and putting five on goal while creating two corner kicks. W&J finished with a 16-12 advantage in shots, including an 8-5 lead in shots on goal.
Mallorie Smith (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) had a team-high three shot attempts for Penn State Altoona, putting one on goal. Taylor Frederick (Mifflinburg, PA/Mifflinburg) and Taylor Matula (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) took two shots apiece, with Frederick putting one shot on target. Amanda Hazel (Clearfield, PA/Clearfield), Erin McCarrie (Blackwood, NJ/Paul VI), and Martin also had shots on goal for the Lions.
With today's game in the rear-view mirror, Penn State Altoona women's soccer will play out its Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference schedule the rest of the way. The Lions will start conference play at home on Tuesday, October 1, hosting La Roche University at 6 p.m.
