Friday Night Lights: Nittany Lions Shine as they Defeat Hofstra 2-1
Penn State Women’s Soccer opened up the regular season on Friday night, defeating Hofstra 2-1. The Nittany Lions, who came into the season ranked number six in the country, put on quite the performance in front of 3,175 fans.
First Half
The Lions started to roar from kickoff. Freshman Alina Ortega-Jurado tallied her first shot on goal just 20 seconds into the game. Minutes later, team captain and Costa Rican National Team player, Raquel Rodriguez had a great chance to put the lions up but her shot went high. Things got even better for the Lions in the 17th minute when Big Ten Pre-Season favorite Mallory Weber opened the scoring for Penn State following an assist from freshman Ellie Jean leaving the Lions headed into the locker-room with a 1-0 advantage.
Midfielder Mallory Weber goes for the ball against Hofstra’s Madeline Anderson.
Photo Credit: Penn State Athletics
Second Half
Going into the second half the Nittany Lions continued to pressure the Hofstra defense and in the 61th minute, Frannie Crouse looked to score her first goal of the season but her shot went high for a Hofstra goal kick. Hofstra continued to gain momentum in their attack and in the 65th minute they equalized the game off of Leah Galton’s shot in the bottom right corner. Penn State bounced back three minutes later when the lions were awarded a set piece and sophomore Emily Ogle buried it to give Penn State the lead in the 68th minute and secure the win. The Lions finished the game with 18 shots on goal while Hofstra recorded only 6.
Up Next
This year’s season opener was a special one for the Nittany Lions. Attendance was the fourth-largest crowd all time for Penn State Women’s Soccer with 3,175 fans packing Jeffrey Field to cheer Penn State to victory. Head coach Erica Walsh was ecstatic by the turnout: “I mean this atmosphere tonight, are you kidding me!?” Walsh had nothing but praise for the fans: "This was one of the most incredible environments we've had here at Jeffrey field in my nine years, rivals the 2012 game against Stanford when we put 5,000 people in the stands so I just want to thank the town and university and the community for coming out tonight. A lot of freshmen in the stands which was exciting in a lot of ways, those guys won the game for us by keeping the spirit up”.
Penn State Women’s Soccer is now 1-0 to start the season. They are back in action this Sunday, August 23rd at 12pm as they take on Loyola Marymount at home.
First Half
The Lions started to roar from kickoff. Freshman Alina Ortega-Jurado tallied her first shot on goal just 20 seconds into the game. Minutes later, team captain and Costa Rican National Team player, Raquel Rodriguez had a great chance to put the lions up but her shot went high. Things got even better for the Lions in the 17th minute when Big Ten Pre-Season favorite Mallory Weber opened the scoring for Penn State following an assist from freshman Ellie Jean leaving the Lions headed into the locker-room with a 1-0 advantage.
Midfielder Mallory Weber goes for the ball against Hofstra’s Madeline Anderson.Photo Credit: Penn State Athletics
Second Half
Going into the second half the Nittany Lions continued to pressure the Hofstra defense and in the 61th minute, Frannie Crouse looked to score her first goal of the season but her shot went high for a Hofstra goal kick. Hofstra continued to gain momentum in their attack and in the 65th minute they equalized the game off of Leah Galton’s shot in the bottom right corner. Penn State bounced back three minutes later when the lions were awarded a set piece and sophomore Emily Ogle buried it to give Penn State the lead in the 68th minute and secure the win. The Lions finished the game with 18 shots on goal while Hofstra recorded only 6.
Up Next
This year’s season opener was a special one for the Nittany Lions. Attendance was the fourth-largest crowd all time for Penn State Women’s Soccer with 3,175 fans packing Jeffrey Field to cheer Penn State to victory. Head coach Erica Walsh was ecstatic by the turnout: “I mean this atmosphere tonight, are you kidding me!?” Walsh had nothing but praise for the fans: "This was one of the most incredible environments we've had here at Jeffrey field in my nine years, rivals the 2012 game against Stanford when we put 5,000 people in the stands so I just want to thank the town and university and the community for coming out tonight. A lot of freshmen in the stands which was exciting in a lot of ways, those guys won the game for us by keeping the spirit up”.
Penn State Women’s Soccer is now 1-0 to start the season. They are back in action this Sunday, August 23rd at 12pm as they take on Loyola Marymount at home.
