No. 10 Penn State women’s soccer (2-0-1) blanked No. 21 West Virginia (1-1-1) 2-0 Thursday night at Jeffrey Field.

The Nittany Lions were firing on all cylinders to take down the ranked Mountaineers, as the offense was resilient and the defense was stout. The Nittany Lions overcame some tough breaks early on to keep the loss column clean this season.

How It Happened

The Nittany Lions didn’t hesitate to penetrate West Virginia’s territory from the get-go, but the Mountaineers’ defense stood stout enough and didn’t allow any damage.

Penn State had its best opportunity near the seven-minute mark with a free kick from just outside the 18-yard box that soared off the foot of Cori Dyke, just missing the far post for a score. After consecutive corner kicks, the Nittany Lions had two more fine-looking opportunities, but they once again couldn’t cash in.

Yet another golden opportunity came for the Nittany Lions when USC transfer Penelope Hocking received a gorgeous chip, and then squeaked it to Kate Wiesner inside the box. But, Wiesner sent it just over the crossbar. A few moments later, another chip ahead from the Nittany Lions’ midfield gave Hocking a second great look, but this time she misfired. Hocking saw plenty of opportunities through the first 15 minutes of the match but couldn’t find the back of the net.

Following a brief timeout to assure the players stay hydrated in the late-August heat and humidity, the Penn State offense picked up right where it left off. But, so did Kayza Massey. West Virginia’s goalkeeper continued her stellar game to this point, recording her fourth save of the first half with one hand on a Payton Linnehan point-blank look.

Penn State’s tough luck on net didn’t go anywhere, as Linnehan got another look shortly after but sent it just wide.

West Virginia got its best look on offense around the 40-minute mark when Chloe Adler sent a free kick to the bottom corner, but it was smothered by Penn State’s netminder, Katherine Asman.

The first half concluded with West Virginia only registering one shot, compared to Penn State’s 11. Massey saved all five of the 11 that were on net, and Asman rejected her sole opportunity.

Appearing newly energized, teams exchanged fouls to begin the second half. Tensions were building and the game was getting increasingly chippy, with both teams eager to be the first one on the board.

West Virginia’s Dilary Heredia-Beltran drew the first card of the match, giving the Nittany Lions a free kick and a chance to strike in 56′.

Swiftly, Linnehan took the ball around West Virginia’s defense and found a trailing Jordan Canniff for a picture-perfect finish to open the scoring.

A look at No. 10 Penn State's goal in the 57th minute as @paytonlinnehan connects with @CanniffJordan against No. 21 WVU.

PSU leads 1-0#WeAre pic.twitter.com/38mEB5k12V

— Penn State Women’s Soccer (@PennStateWSOC) August 25, 2022

It only took the Nittany Lions one shot to score in the second half to make the game 1-0.

Penn State’s superb defense continued as the clock wound down, and it began to make its opportunities count. This time it was Hocking connecting with Mieke Schiemann’s head to extend the Nittany Lions’ lead to 2-0.

The back end of the Nittany Lions failed to crack, and Heredia-Beltran was ejected following her second yellow card of the game in its waning moments, capping off the victory for the Nittany Lions.

Player of the Match

Mieke Schiemann

Schiemann netted her first career goal in the second half to double the Nittany Lions’ lead that wouldn’t let up and seemingly sucked all the life left in the Mountaineers. The Germany native’s goal was her only shot of the game, giving her a perfect shot-to-goal ratio on the night.

What’s Next?

Penn State will travel to New Jersey to take on Monmouth for its first away match of the season at 1 p.m. on Sunday, August 28