Nov. 14, 2010
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. -- The Penn State women's soccer team had its season end in frantic fashion at the hands of the third-seeded and 14th-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers on Sunday in a 2-1 defeat at Dlesk Stadium. PSU couldn't overcome a two-goal first-half deficit despite out-playing the Mountaineers in the second half.
Down 2-1 after half time, Penn State (11-9-1) threw all sorts of numbers forward in the attempt to gather an equalizer. Penn State controlled the play from beginning to end, out-classing the West Virginia (18-4-1) side in every phase of the game. Tani Costa (Honolulu, Hawaii) had a chance in the 52nd minute that went high of net off a gorgeous run by Danielle Toney (Northville, Mich). The senior forward was a pest all game and forced WVU's Kerri Butler into a save in the 56th. Less than a minute later, Costa got a header from 10 yards out that was stopped by Butler before a Christine Nairn (Arnold, Md.) chance was pushed aside by the senior goalkeeper in the 58th minute.
In the 72nd minute, Taylor Schram (Canonsburg, Pa.) had a heading attempt off a Hayley Brock (Acton, Mass.) cross that went high of net that would've beaten Butler. Rodriguez came the other way three minutes later and ripped a shot wide right, giving away a golden opportunity to extend the lead.
From there it was all Penn State as WVU scrambled all over the field to prevent the equalizer. Nairn had a chance blocked in the 77th before gathering her rebound and nearly scoring before Butler stopped it on the right post. Another flurry of shots saw Brock streak into the penalty area on the right wing and her crossing effort go through the goal mouth past a sliding Costa and Schram. The ball landed on the foot of Nairn whose blast to the right side of the net was stopped by McCarthy and Brock's shot off that rebound was pushed aside by Butler for a corner kick.
Unfortunately for the Nittany Lions, the equalizer would never come even though Penn State out-played West Virginia for the majority of the match. Penn State out-shot West Virginia 17-8 for the game, including a 10-2 margin in the second half. Butler made five saves in all, while PSU had five corner kicks to WVU's three.
With some early back-and-forth play from both teams that produced early chances, West Virginia (18-4-1) took advantage of a corner in the 15th minute when defender Drea Barklage head home a superbly delivered ball by Bry McCarthy. Just two minutes later, the Mountaineers would strike again as Bri Rodriguez's deflected cross found the foot of Megan Lewis 16 yards out and slot it home far left post for a two-goal advantage.
West Virginia's momentum continued a while longer as Rodriguez forced a save by PSU goalkeeper Krissy Tribbett (Centennial, Colo.) in the 29th minute off another dangerous WVU corner kick. From there, Penn State controlled the play and used its speed as an advantage.
Toney broke free down the middle of the field off a terrific through ball from Costa and she slipped the breakaway chance underneath WVU's Butler near-side to cut the lead in half 34:16 into the match.
Brock made her presence known all over the field starting with that play as she earned the double assist on Toney's goal. She was able to cut up the WVU defense and garnered a foul from Barklage, as the goal scorer picked up a yellow card for the late challenge in the 38th minute. Toney would get another chance in the 43rd minute on another clear chance on the right flank, but her chipping attempt went just wide of the net, keeping the Mountaineers out in front.
The Nittany Lion season ends in the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year, while WVU moves onto the third round to face Boston College. The PSU careers of Toney and fellow senior Megan Monroig (Northumberland, Pa.) came to an end on Sunday.
Toney finishes her career with 99 career games played, sixth in PSU's history, while placing eight all-time in goals (38), game-winning goals (12), and points (96) as well as tied for 10th in assists (20). Monroig played in 87 total games with 43 starts, two goals, eight assists and 12 points in her four-year PSU career.
BOX SCORE
| Team | 1st | 2nd | OT1 | OT2 | Total | Record |
| Penn State | 1 | 0 | - | - | 1 | (11-9-1) |
| West Virginia | 2 | 0 | - | - | 2 | (18-4-1) |
Scoring Summary
WVU (14:27) - Drea Barklage (5, Bry McCarthy)
WVU (16:42) - Meghan Lewis (3, Bri Rodriguez)
PSU (34:16) - Danielle Toney (8, Tani Costa, Hayley Brock)
Stat Summary
Shots: PSU 17, WVU 8
Shots on Goal: PSU 7, WVU 3
Corners: PSU 5, WVU 3
Saves: PSU 1, WVU 6
Fouls: PSU 12, WVU 15
Offsides: PSU 1, WVU 1
Booking Summary
Yellow - PSU - Megan Monroig (16:32)
Yellow - WVU - Drea Barklage (37:18)
Yellow - PSU - Maddy Evans (54:43)
Attendance: 855
For complete coverage of Penn State women's soccer, please visit http://www.GoPSUsports.com/sports/w-soccer.
Follow Penn State women's soccer on Twitter: @PSUWomensSoccer
Follow Penn State women's soccer on Facebook: www.facebook.com/PSUWomensSoccer
--NITTANY LIONS--