Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Penn State
Bucknell Women's Soccer Falls 5-1 at Penn State
9/15/2010 8:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 15, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Danielle Toney scored two goals to help Penn State expand a narrow halftime lead, and the Nittany Lions defeated Bucknell 5-1 at Jeffrey Field Wednesday night. Christa Matlack (South Williamsport, Pa./South Williamsport) scored her fourth goal of the season for the Bison, but it wasn't enough to prevent a sixth straight loss.
After climbing as high as No. 12 in the national rankings after opening the season with a win over No. 24 West Virginia and a tie with No. 15 Virginia, Penn State (2-5-1) had dropped five in a row heading into Wednesday's game. The Bison had also lost five straight but were hoping to recapture some of the positive vibes from last year's meeting, when they played the Nittany Lions to a 0-0 tie at Emmitt Field.
Penn State tested Bison keeper Sandita McDermott (Rhinebeck, N.Y./Red Hook) early, but McDermott responded with four saves in the first 16 minutes. The Lions finally solved the Bison defense in the 25th minute, when Maya Hayes ran onto a through ball from Christine Nairn and slipped in her third goal of the season.
It remained a 1-0 game into the early stages of the second half, but Penn State put it away with three goals in a span of just 11 minutes. Taylor Schram scored in the 51st minute to make it 2-0, then Toney scored consecutive goals for a 4-0 lead.
The highlight of the night for Bucknell came in the 71st minute, when Matlack picked off a pass from the Penn State keeper and scored from just inside the box. It was Matlack's second goal in as many games and the 29th of her career.
Bucknell had another good scoring opportunity moments later when Penn State backup keeper Kristin Hartmann made a tough save on Matlack, then Alex Degarmo (Laguna Beach, Calif./Laguna Beach) just missed sticking back the rebound. Hayley Brock then finished the scoring for Penn State on a breakaway in the 76th minute.
Penn State outshot Bucknell 28-6 and led 4-1 in corner kicks. The Bison put five of their six shots on frame, forcing Krissy Tribbett and Hartmann into two saves apiece. McDermott made seven saves in 66 minutes for Bucknell, while Colleen Garrehy (Danville, Calif./Carondelet) came off the bench and made four stops.
Bucknell returns to action on Sunday at home against Cornell at 3 p.m. That begins a stretch of four out of five games at Emmitt Field.
