No. 9 Penn State women’s soccer (3-2-1, 0-0 Big Ten) lost 1-0 against No. 8 Virginia (5-0-1, 0-0 ACC) on Thursday night at Klöckner Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia.

After the game got delayed for 40 minutes due to inclement weather, the Cavaliers got off to a fast start as they took an early 1-0 lead over the Nittany Lions after one minute of play. Penn State heavily struggled in the first half as it managed to only get two shots, but Virginia could not extend its lead heading into halftime.

In the second half, both teams could not find the back of the net as Penn State could not get another shot on-target. In the end, Virginia held on to the 1-0 win as Penn State lost its second game of the season.

How It Happened

The game did not start at its scheduled time as inclement weather delayed kickoff for 40 minutes. Penn State head coach Erica Dambach went with the same starting 11 and formation of 4-4-2 from previous matches. Virginia got off to a fast start as it dominated possession from kickoff. In the first minute, the ball was played to Virginia’s Olivia Rademaker in the left flank who then passed the ball to Carrie Helfrich.

She crossed the ball on her first touch into the box which deflected off the foot of two Virginia players before reaching Maggie Cagle. She managed to control the ball in the box with the outside of her right foot. After she controlled it to give herself the space to shoot the ball, she hit the ball with her right foot into the far-left corner of the net as the Cavaliers took a 1-0 lead after less than two minutes into the game.

Both teams struggled to create any dangerous opportunities for the next seven minutes as they went back and forth. In the span of a minute, Virginia’s Lia Godfrey had two scoring opportunities, but her shots went off-target. The Cavaliers continued to apply the pressure on the Nittany Lions as Cagle had a dangerous scoring opportunity in the 12th minute which forced Penn State goalkeeper Mackenzie Gress to make a save to keep Penn State’s deficit at one.

Virginia had another chance to extend its lead less than a minute later, but Addison Halpern’s shot went off-target. It wasn’t until the 14th minute that the Nittany Lions had its first scoring opportunity on a shot by Amelia White inside Virginia’s box, but it was saved by Virginia’s goalkeeper Victoria Safradin. Two minutes later, the Cavaliers earned the first corner of the game but couldn’t capitalize on the set piece as the Nittany Lions cleared away the danger.

The tempo of the game significantly slowed down for the next 10 minutes as both teams struggle to break down each other’s defense. In this timeframe, Lily Burger and Riley Greason got called for fouls but both avoided a card. In the 25th minute, Virginia threatened to increase its lead on a shot by Halpern from outside the box but her shot went wide right.

Both teams continued to struggle to create meaningful chances for the next ten minutes. Penn State started to play a high press as its struggles to get scoring opportunities in this game continued. In the 35th minute, Riley Cross got into the Virginia box but was swarmed by three Virginia defenders. She found the space to take a shot with her left foot but her shot went wide left.

Four minutes later, the Cavaliers had another dangerous scoring chance, but it came to an end right away as offside was called. Neither team was able to create a dangerous scoring opportunity in the final five minutes of the first half as Virginia held a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.

Just like the first half, the Cavaliers got the first opportunity a minute into the second half on a shot by Helfrich, but her shot went off-target. The Nittany Lions started dominating possession for the next three minutes, but they could not create any meaningful chances before the Cavaliers settled into the game once again.

In the 50th minute, Virginia played a cross into the box which was controlled by Cagle who then passed the ball to Halpern into the middle box and shot the ball. Gress made an amazing save which led to a Virginia corner. The Cavaliers could not create a dangerous scoring opportunity as Gress punched the ball out of danger.

Five minutes later, Helfrich took a shot from outside the box, but it went off-target. A minute later, the Nittany Lions tried to respond with a shot by White but her shot went wide left. This shot gave them some momentum as they started to dominate possession. In the 58th minute, Penn State had another opportunity to tie the game on a header by Kulpa but her header went wide right.

Two minutes later, a video review occurred as the ref was trying to determine if there was a handball by Penn State inside the box. After the review, it was determined that there was an offside in the buildup of the play before the handball occurred, indicating no penalty for Virginia.

In the 64th minute, Halpern shot the ball from outside the box but her shot went to the bottom center which allowed Gress to make an easy save. The tempo of the game slowed for the next eight minutes as both teams struggled to create any meaningful chances. Penn State earned its first corner of the game in the 72nd minute but could not create another scoring opportunity.

Two minutes later, Virginia tried to extend its lead on a shot by Allie Ross, but Gress made a great save that allowed Penn State to stay within one goal of tying the game. In the 77th minute, the Cavaliers earned a corner kick but could not capitalize on it. Halpern managed to get a shot off a minute later, but it went off-target.

With 10 minutes left in the game, the Nittany Lions started to play a high press in hopes of finding an equalizer. In the 84th minute, Penn State earned its second corner of the game, but Virginia cleared the danger right away.

A minute later, Virginia’s Meredith McDermott broke away from Penn State’s defense leaving her one-on-one with Gress. However, Bella Ayscue managed to catch up with her and recovered the ball despite McDermott going down while arguing for a foul. This led to a video review after the ball went out of bounds, after the review, the call stood.

Penn State continued to get desperate for the late equalizer in the final five minutes of the game, but it never managed to threaten Virginia’s defense and the game came to a close with Virginia winning 1-0.

Takeaways

• Penn State struggled heavily in this game. In the first half, Virginia dominated from the start, as it scored the first goal of the game in the first minute. After that, it never looked back as Penn State managed to only get one shot on-target compared to Virginia’s six.
• Despite the loss, Mackenzie Gress deserves a lot of credit for keeping the Nittany Lions in this game. She recorded four saves and only allowed one goal. With how Penn State played today, the score could’ve been uglier if it wasn’t for her contributions.
• Virginia’s defense limited Penn State’s offense in a big way. The Nittany Lions managed to only get four shots with only one going on-target. This allowed its offense to dominate possession throughout the game as it got 18 shots with six on-target.

What’s Next?

Penn State will stay in the state of Virginia and will visit Liberty at Osbourne Stadium in Lynchburg at 1 p.m. on Sunday, September 7. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.