The No. 7 Penn State women’s soccer team was dubbed one of the premier fall sports to watch in Happy Valley. Ranked in the top-10 during the preseason, the Nittany Lions started the year well, going 3-0-through the first four home games. Traveling from home for the first time, the women’s soccer team took to Morgantown, WV, to take on the No. 12 West Virginia Mountaineers to keep its unbeaten streak alive.

How It Happened

The Mountaineers looked prepared, seeming sharp and prepared early against a top-10 team in the nation. West Virginia gained the edge with two corner kicks in the first seven minutes., and scored the first goal in the game’s seventh minute off of a header. After the early score, the game leveled out. Penn State had a number of equalizing opportunities, taking five shots on goal in a row with no challenge from the Mountaineers. West Virginia had the better opportunities in the first half, but Penn State had more control of the ball, staying within one through halftime.

The second half was a frustrating one for the Nittany Lions. They were met with many quality opportunities to score, but unfortunately the Nittany Lions couldn’t capitalize. West Virginia played very good defensive towards the end, clearing a number of scoring chances from the Nittany Lions and maintaining a one goal lead. A Penn State assistant was given a yellow card in the last five minutes of the match for being too aggressive on the sideline. Despite quality scoring chances toward the end, the Nittany Lions fell 1-0.

Takeaways

Penn State did all it could against a West Virginia team that played a better defensive game than expected. The Mountaineers held Penn State to just eight shots versus 14 of their own. The Nittany Lions seemed too streaky on the offensive side of the ball, putting up five shots in 12 minutes in the first half. After those 12 minutes, Penn State could only muster up three shots for the rest of the game.

Britt Eckerstrom played a nice game after allowing the only goal of the match in the seventh minute. After letting one through, she composed herself and made five saves to help keep Penn State within one. However, her team couldn’t come through on offense at Penn State falls for the first time this season.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions are heading to California for a two-game road trip to take on Stanford on Friday, Sept. 11 at 8:00 p.m. before playing Santa Clara on Sunday, Sept. 13 at 1:00 p.m.