HARRISONBURG, Va. – The No. 5 Penn State women's soccer team captured a 3-0 victory over James Madison in a non-conference contest Thursday night, Aug. 30, at Sentara Park. Kristin Schnurr (Bristow, Va.) opened up the scoring for PSU with her first career goal as a Nittany Lion during the 26th minute of play.
After a save on Frankie Tagliaferri (Colts Neck, N.J.) in the third minute of play, there wasn't much offense for either team early on in the first half.
In the 23rd minute, Charlotte Williams (Rochester, N.Y.), in search of her first goal of the season, fired a shot on goal from the top of the box, but James Madison's (1-4-0) Hannah McShea was there for her second save of the evening.
The duo of Kerry Abello (Batavia, Ill.) and Schnurr then teamed up in the 26th minute to get Penn State (3-1-0) on the scoreboard. On the left side of the box, Abello played the ball on the ground to Schnurr. Then from six yards out, Schnurr put the ball past McShea to give the Blue & White a 1-0 lead.
The Nittany Lions held on to the 1-0 lead going into halftime. With the first 45 minutes of play in the books, Penn State outshot James Madison, 7-0.
It only took a few minutes into the second half for the Nittany Lions to make it a 2-0 contest. After tallying an assist on the first goal of the match, it was Abello's turn to net the second goal of the evening.
From the left side of the field, Abello's right-footed shot hit the right post and bounced into the back of the net for the 2-0 tally in the 48th minute of action. On the Abello goal, Williams netted the assist for her first point of the 2018 season.
Less than two minutes after the Abello goal, Emily Ogle (Strongsville, Ohio) buried a penalty kick to give the Nittany Lions a 3-0 lead in the 50th minute of action.
In net for the Blue & White, Amanda Dennis (San Diego, Calif.) made two saves over the first 65:43 of play, while Sarafina Valenti (Bechtelsville, Pa.) didn't have to make a save to keep the shutout victory intact.
The Nittany Lions close out their two-game road trip with a visit to Wake Forest (2-1-1) on Sunday, Sept. 2. The match is slated for a 6 p.m. start at Spry Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
NOTES: Penn State leads the all-time series against James Madison, 12-4-1…The Nittany Lions outshot the Dukes, 12-4…Since the start of the 2012 season, Penn State is now 98-3-5 when scoring first…The Nittany Lions have recorded three shutouts in four games in 2018...With her goal tonight, Ogle moved into 23rd all-time at Penn State in points with 50…Williams recorded the 18th assist of her career, which is tied for 22nd all-time at Penn State…Ogle has scored a goal in three straight matches…Freshman Caitlin Haislip made her Penn State debut in the 57th minute.