Soccer Teams Falter in Postseason Play
The University’s women’s soccer team lost 3-0 to Penn State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Jeffrey Field on Friday, Nov. 15. The nationally ranked No. 24 Nittany Lions improved to 15-6-1 for the season while the Hawks fell to 17-2-2. This was only the second time all season the blue and white were shutout.
Penn State opened up the game with a goal from senior forward Tani Costa in the seventh minute. On the play, Costa received a cross directly in front of the goal from sophomore Mallory Weber, and placed herself in the prime spot to place the ball on net.
The Hawks looked to answer in the 19th minute when freshman forward Alexis McTamney struck a ball from just inside the 18 yard box, but the Nittany Lions’ goalkeeper Britt Eckerstrom made a diving save to keep the lead. The half ended with the Hawks losing 1-0.
The start of the second half was similar to the first; PSU continued to take shots and MU was poised to counter-attack. In the 51st minute however, Costa scored her second goal of the game to extend the Nitanny Lions’ lead to 2-0.
The blue and white looked to spark a comeback in the 61st minute of play as junior midfielder Breynn Collazo took a shot that sailed just over the cross bar. Three minutes later, MU’s senior forward Monique Plescia made another attempt at the net which went wide.
The Nittany Lions scored their third and final goal in the 67th minute when PSU’s Whitney Church headed the ball into the net off of a corner-kick. This was the first time the Hawks gave up three goals in a single game since Oct. 21, 2012.
MU was led by senior forward Dana Costello in shots attempted with four while McTamney added two shots of her own. Fifth year senior Ashley Lewis made nine saves in the match which marks her career-high.
“We played the best we could against a great opponent,” stated MU head coach Krissy Turner. “We created some excellent chances and were not able to convert. I am very proud of my team and how they represented Monmouth on the national stage.”
The season marked many milestones. The women tied a school-record with 17 victories on the year and also set a new program-record for shutouts with 16. They also became MAAC Championships in their first year of conference play.
