No. 3 Penn State women’s soccer (1-1-0) dropped its match against No. 21 Virginia (3-0-0) 2-1 Thursday night at Jeffrey Field.

Penn State came out firing, utilizing its high press to put pressure on Virginia. Early on, this worked to perfection as many big chances were created from it, leading to Kaitlyn MacBean’s second goal in two games. As the game wore on, the Cavaliers grew increasingly comfortable playing through the pressure, leading to two controversial goals in the second half that were enough to secure the 2-1 victory.  

How It Happened

Erica Dambach made two changes to her starting 11 from a week ago, subbing Natalie Wilson into the midfield for an injured Rebecca Cooke and Amanda Poorbaugh at keeper replacing Mackenzie Gress.  

The Nittany Lions continued their high-energy pressing from their last game and saw three great opportunities because of it. MacBean, Amelia White, and Jordan Fusco all saw open grass inside the box within a few minutes but couldn’t find the back of the net.  

This pressure continued for the first ten minutes resulting in Penn State dominating the shots four to zero through that time.

As the first half ticked on, Virginia grew in confidence and started to find more space to beat the press. This resulted in a very well-played counterattack that gave the Cavaliers their first shot of the match.  

Penn State, feeling the opposition waking up, did not leave its press behind. Olivia Damico and MacBean ran like their legs would never get tired and finally picked a ball off in the box to score the opening goal of the match in the 15th minute. MacBean ran over to an energized student section to celebrate her second of the season.  

The following minutes remained all Penn State as the Nittany Lions produced chance after chance off the press. The Cavaliers goalie, Victoria Safradin, proved to be a tough netminder to beat and produced a couple of big saves.  

The first time Virginia had sustained pressure came with eight minutes left in the first half. Penn State’s back three, along with its holding midfielders, held strong until halftime with a 1-0 lead.  

Penn State started the second half on the front foot putting pressure on the Cavaliers once again. In the 49th minute, the pressure paid off as the Nittany Lions won their second corner of the game and nearly took a two-goal lead if not for strong hands from Safradin.  

After a few minutes, a controversial non-foul call on MacBean led to an equalizer for Virginia in the 54th minute. The play went to a lengthy review, but the goal was given anyway. 

The goal lifted Virginia and, despite seeing much less of the ball, was quick to attack when it received the ball. With 30 minutes remaining in the second half, the Cavaliers were sending tons of players into the box and looking for a free header or rebound goal.  

This eventually worked as in the 66th minute the Virginia striker got dragged down in the Penn State box. The ref once again had to go to the review board but decided to give the penalty. The shot was taken perfectly and found the top right corner to give the Cavaliers a 2-1 lead with 24 minutes to play.   

MacBean tried a backheel finish, Aubrey Kulpa looked dangerous, and Fusco continued to add a different dynamic to the Penn State attack. Despite this, Penn State could not get the bounce it needed to tie it up. 

A few great saves from Safradin and successfully switching to a low block saw the Cavaliers take the victory on Thursday.  

Takeaways

• MacBean is back. Penn State did not get the result it wanted but the Nittany Lions can be confident going into the next match knowing one of its best players is just as dangerous this time around.
• Penn State’s back three is excellent at positioning itself so they never take on one-on-ones. With this being said, when one-on-ones do occur the Nittany Lions have given up two penalties in two games. A more conservative approach in the box might help put less pressure on Penn State’s excellent keepers.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions remain home to take on West Chester at 1 p.m. on Sunday, August 25. This is a rematch from last year when Penn State won 8-0.