No. 8 Penn State women’s soccer (4-3-1) recorded a second consecutive home defeat against No. 4 University of Virginia (8-0-0) Sunday at Jeffrey Field, falling 2-1 to the Cavaliers.

The top-ten matchup challenged the Nittany Lions, who struggled to gain traction against a furious Virginia offense. Ally Schlegel cancelled out Meghan McCool’s early strike in the 85th minute, but Virginia scored 30 seconds later to hand the Nittany Lions their second loss against a top-ten team this season.

How It Happened

The Cavaliers justified their No. 4 ranking in the first 15 minutes of the match with four shots, two of which were on goal. Virginia dominated the ball for the first 15 minutes, and tested Penn State’s defense.

After Kaleigh Riehl failed to block a cross from Cavaliers winger Rebecca Jarrett, Meghan McCool received the ball with her back to goal and slid a shot under Laura Suero and Kat Asman to give Virginia a 1-0 lead in the 16th minute.

Virginia quickly registered three more shots, one on goal, after scoring. Suero went off injured in the 19th minute and was replaced by sophomore center back Caitlin Haislip.

The Nittany Lions clearly felt the absence of the injured winger Kerry Abello going forward, and conceded multiple shots to the Cavaliers throughout the half that narrowly missed Asman’s goal.

Towards the end of the first half, Penn State started to apply pressure on Virginia’s defense consistently for the first time in the match. However, they couldn’t get a strong shot off and finished the first half down 1-0 to the Cavaliers. Virginia finished the first half with 78 percent possession.

Penn State earned its first corner of the match early in the first half a result of the team coming out stronger on the attack. The team settled into a passing rhythm as Sam Coffey pushed forward in a playmaking role, and their typical focused gameplay was back.

The Penn State defense also looked settled coming into the second half, but allowed the Cavaliers to pass from the right sideline to the middle, where Virginia’s Anna Sumpter fired a shot on goal that was punched over the net by Kat Asman.

Center back Riehl has held the Nittany Lion defense together as pressure increased, and her distribution from the back was excellent against the Cavaliers.

The Nittany Lions’ top goal scorer Ally Schlegel contributed on defense as well, rising high to clear the ball out of the box after a Cavalier corner kick. She then orchestrated one of the best plays of the match, using skillful footwork to outsmart and escape the Cavalier defense in the 62nd minute before she was brought down in the opposition half.

Payton Linnehan found space on the edge of the Virginia penalty area several minutes later, but her shots were blocked. Virginia found its way back into the Penn State penalty area, but Haislip committed to a fantastic tackle to deny McCool from scoring a second.

The match seemed to be headed for overtime when, in the 85th minute, Coffey drove a free kick into the penalty area and Schlegel beat her defender to score on the volley. Schlegel has now scored in six consecutive matches for the Nittany Lions.

But the Cavaliers came back off the kickoff with a fantastic play, driving down the right side of the field, putting in a cross, and allowing Sydney Zandi to slip a shot past Asman and put Virginia up 2-1. Penn State failed to find a second late equalizer, and the Cavaliers notched their fourth consecutive win against the Nittany Lions.

Player of the Match

Cori Dyke| Freshman |Midfield

Penn State’s true freshman starter has been a consistent starter since she arrived in Happy Valley. She recorded several tackles, and her passing was crisp as usual against the Cavaliers.

What’s Next?

Penn State returns to Jeffrey Field to face Michigan (5-0-2) Thursday, September 19 at 7 p.m.