MORGANTOWN, W.V. - No. 23 Penn State women’s soccer fell, 2-1, against No. 22 West Virginia at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium on Thursday night.
Freshman forward Anna Babcock, making her first collegiate start, scored the first goal of her rookie campaign just over 10 minutes into the first half. Senior forward Paige Kalal assisted Babcock on the contest’s opening goal for her third point of the season following a goal against Notre Dame on August 16.
Babcock tied juniors Bella Ayscue and Aubrey Kulpa with a team-high two shots. Fellow freshman Olivia Robinson made her collegiate debut as a substitute in the second frame.
The Nittany Lions owned a 4-1 edge in corner kicks with both goalkeepers recording two saves in a tight contest between two top 25 squads.
FIRST HALF
After an even opening 10 minutes of play, the Nittany Lions broke through for the first goal of the night. Kalal registered her first assist in a Penn State uniform as she worked the middle of the Penn State attack. The senior forward found Babcock streaking down the left side of the pitch, who blasted the ball past the West Virginia goalkeeper with a left-footed strike to the far post.
The middle minutes of the half were a physical back-and-forth battle between the Nittany Lions and Mountaineers. Both sides traded tackles, fouls and tough contests for possession. By halves end, WVU committed seven fouls to Penn State’s five.
West Virginia found the back of the net in the 34th minute of the frame on a shot off the crossbar from outside the box. Neither team found a great chance following the equalizer as the match would go into the half even at 1-1.
SECOND HALF
Both sides opened the second half on the attack with the Nittany Lions putting together a few opportunities in the attacking third. Penn State registered the match’s first corner kick at the 51:58 mark, earning a couple of chances near the goal, but were unable to find a shot on the stat sheet.
West Virginia took the lead in the 68th minute with a goal in front of the net. The Penn State offense pushed the pace, earning three corner kicks after the Mountaineer score. The Nittany Lions could not capitalize on the opportunities before ultimately dropping the match, 2-1, after a hard-fought final few minutes.
SCORING SUMMARY
11’ - PSU 1, WVU 0: Anna Babcock (1). Assisted by Paige Kalal (1)
34’ - PSU 1, WVU 1: Olivia Shertzer (1)
68’ - PSU 1, WVU 2: Sophia Nickel (2). Assisted by Layla Thompson (1).
UP NEXT
Penn State begins a three-match homestand with the home opener against Bucknell on Thursday, August 27. The Nittany Lions and Bison are set for a 7:30 p.m. (ET) start at Jeffrey Field with a live broadcast on B1G+. The Blue & White are 24-3-5 in home openers with a 12-2-5 mark under head coach Erica Dambach.
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Visit GoPSUSports.com for more information on Penn State women’s soccer. Fans can keep up to date with the Nittany Lion women’s soccer team on X and Instagram @PennStateWSOC, in addition to the team’s Facebook page at /PSUWomensSoccer.