Sports are back.

Penn State’s first regular-season sporting event happened Friday night, with the women’s soccer team taking down Hofstra by a score of 2-1. Goals were scored by Penn State’s Mallory Weber and Emily Ogle and Hofstra’s Leah Galton.

How It Happened

The Nittany Lions were tabbed as the nation’s No. 6 team entering the season and were expected to clean out Hofstra, but the away team put up an overall impressive fight. Right out of the gate, Penn State was awarded a corner kick but was unable to capitalize. It was the first of nine corners Penn State would attempt and miss, compared to Hofstra’s six.

Penn State went on the offense for most of the first half, then finally broke through when Ellie Jean slid a pass to Mallory Weber, who fired the ball inside the far post. That concluded scoring for the half as the Lions held a 1-0 lead.

Early in the second, team captain and Costa Rican National Team member Raquel Rodriguez looked to have buried a teammate’s cross but the goal was disallowed. A few minutes later, Hofstra’s forwards snuck behind Penn State’s defense and equalized the game. Then, a mere three minutes went by before Emily Ogle ripped home a goal off of a set piece.

The Lions ended up outshooting Hofstra 18-6 and won by a final score of 2-1. Penn State sports as a whole are 1-0 this year.

Player Of The Game

Raquel Rodriguez. The midfielder dominated play, forcing turnovers and making creative, effective passes. Of course, Weber and Ogle had solid games as well with their goals.

Tweet Of The Game

3,175 tonight! Fourth-largest crowd all-time for the Penn State women at Jeffrey Field.

— Penn State Women’s Soccer (@PennStateWSOC) August 22, 2015

It was the first night back on campus for a lot of students and Jeffrey Field was filled with energy.

What’s Next?

The women’s soccer team is back in action this Sunday, August 23 at noon as it takes on Loyola Marymount at home.

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