No. 9 Penn State women’s soccer (4-2-1, 0-0 Big Ten) dominated Liberty (4-2-2, 0-0 C-USA) 3-0 on Sunday afternoon at Osborne Stadium in Lynchburg, Virginia. This was Penn State’s last non-conference game ahead of conference play on Thursday.

After losing 1-0 against No. 8 Virginia on Thursday, the Nittany Lions had the chance to get on the scoresheet early on a shot by Amelia White, but her shot hit the post. Both teams struggled to break each other’s defense as there were no goals in the first half.

In the second half, Penn State broke the deadlock in the 51st minute on a goal by Julia Raich. This goal allowed it to dominate the rest of the game as it went on to score two more goals to put the game out of hand for Liberty. The Flames were not able to score a goal as the Nittany Lions shut them out 3-0.

How It Happened

Penn State head coach Erica Dambach made a change to the starting 11 as defender Lilly Burger got the start over Kaelyn Wolfe and went with a 4-3-3 formation, unlike previous matches. The game got off to a slow start for the first seven minutes as both teams tried to settle into the game.

In the eighth minute, Aubrey Kulpa passed the ball to Amelia White, who managed to break Liberty’s high line. She drove the ball into the box where she had a one-on-one with Liberty’s goalkeeper Ainsley Leja. However, she could not convert on this scoring opportunity as her shot hit the left post and the Flames cleared away the danger after White failed to get the rebound on target.

The Nittany Lions continued to be aggressive as they had another opportunity to score the first goal of the game on a shot by Kulpa three minutes later, but her shot went off-target. In the 13th minute, Liberty earned its first scoring opportunity on a shot by Lauren Flax, but it went off-target. A minute later, a yellow card was given to Liberty’s Kayla Magee for Unsporting.

The Flames started to find their rhythm in this game and in the span of a minute, they had two shots on goal, but both went off-target. After the tempo of the game slowed down for the next six minutes, Liberty earned the first corner of the game in the 24th minute but couldn’t create a scoring opportunity. However, it earned another corner less than 30 seconds later, but once again, Penn State’s defense stood tall, and goalie Mackenzie Gress earned a goal kick after Liberty hit another shot off-target.

Both teams went back and forth for the next six minutes as both struggled to create any dangerous scoring opportunities. In the 32nd minute, Penn State tried to break the deadlock as Kaitlyn MacBean played the ball to White inside Liberty’s box, but she was called for offside. Seven minutes later, MacBean got the ball inside the Flames’ box but was met by two Liberty defenders. Despite the pressure, she managed to get the shot off, but it went wide right.

The tempo of the game slowed down for the next five minutes, but with a minute left in the first half, the Nittany Lions became aggressive offensively and earned their first corner of the game. They could not get a shot on goal as Olivia Borgen’s shot was blocked, but the ball went out for another Penn State corner with 25 seconds left.

Penn State once again struggled to convert on the set piece, but the Flames could not clear away the danger as Kennedy Ring recovered the ball outside the box. After she recovered the ball, Ring took a last-gasp shot from outside the box, but her shot went off-target as the half came to an end with the deadlock staying intact.

The Flames played the high press from the first minute of the second half and they had a great opportunity to break the deadlock on a shot by Flax, but it went wide right. A minute later, they kept piling up the pressure and they got their first shot on-target from Avenley Monteith, which forced Gress to make her first save of the game.

Penn State started to settle into this half, and in the 53rd minute, it earned its first corner kick of the game. The ball was played into the box, but it ricocheted off a Liberty player into the middle. However, Molly Martin was there for the rebound, who toe-poked the ball to Julia Raich outside the box. On her first touch, she hit the ball into the top right-hand corner of the goal, and it went into the back of the net as Penn State broke the deadlock.

The Nittany Lions continued to pile up the pressure on the Flames’ defense as they had another shot on target by Nicollette Kiorpes a minute later, but Leja made an easy save. In the 59th minute, Penn State earned another corner. It played a short corner instead of playing the ball into the box. Hannah Jordan then played the ball into Burger, who headed into the goal as the Nittany Lions extended their lead to two.

Penn State continued to seize its momentum and earned another corner less than 30 seconds after scoring the second goal. It couldn’t capitalize on it as Liberty got the ball out of danger. In the 61st minute, Kulpa got a shot on goal, but Leja made a save that allowed Liberty to keep its two-goal deficit. Three minutes later, the Flames tried to get within one on a shot by Margaret Garner, but it went off-target.

In the 69th minute, the Nittany Lions had the opportunity to extend their lead on a shot by Riley Greason, but it was blocked by Liberty. A minute later, Kulpa tried to get another shot on goal but once again, it was blocked by the Flames. Penn State continued to search for the third goal and in the 71st minute, Riley Cross was taken down inside Liberty’s box, but no penalty was given.

The ball went out of play right after and the referee decided to go to the monitor for a video review. After the review, the call stood and no penalty was given to the Nittany Lions. Five minutes later, Liberty started to get desperate, and Halle Engle tried to get a shot on goal but was blocked. However, Maddyson Kerley got the rebound and got a shot off, but it went off-target.

In the 78th minute, Burger tried to extend Penn State’s lead with a shot on goal, but it was cleared away by Liberty. However, in the 79th minute, the Nittany Lions earned a throw-in on the left flank, and Greason got the ball on the throw-in. She then passed the ball to Kulpa, who drove the ball down the middle before she hit the ball outside the box with her left foot and scored as Penn State increased its lead to three.

In desperation to avoid being shutout, the Flames tried to get their name on the scoresheet on a shot by Monteith, but Gress made another save to keep the clean sheet alive for the Nittany Lions. In the 83rd minute, MacBean tried to get her name on the scoresheet, but her shot was blocked. Two minutes later, White tried to score but her shot was blocked once again.

Both teams went back and forth for the final six minutes of the game, trying to score a goal. However, neither were able to score despite having chances and the game came to an end as Penn State shutout Liberty 3-0.

Takeaways

• After a slow first half, the Nittany Lions found a new gear in the second half as they scored two goals in the span of five minutes, which allowed them to dictate the rest of the game before scoring a third goal to put the game out of reach for the Flames and shut them out.
• Despite not scoring a goal, Riley Greason made her presence known as a distributor. She had two assists in this game as she assisted Penn State’s second and third goals. She helped the Nittany Lions dictate play in the midfield as they piled on the pressure on Liberty’s defense.
• Liberty was very inefficient with its shot attempts. It managed to get 12 shots, but only two of those were on target. It had to play on the back foot throughout most of the second half as it struggled to keep up with Penn State’s high-powered offense.

What’s Next?

Penn State will begin Big Ten play when it takes on Maryland at Jeffrey Field on Thursday, September 11, at 6 p.m. The game will be streamed on BTN+.