Box Score
State College, PA -- The LIU Brooklyn women's soccer team fought tooth and nail with the No. 3 team in the nation, but ultimately saw its season come to a close with a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Penn State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at Jeffrey Field on Saturday evening. The Blackbirds, who won their second consecutive Northeast Conference Tournament to advance to the NCAA Field of 64, close out their season with a 10-8-3 record.
"Obviously we're very proud of the program and getting back here twice," head coach Tracey Bartholomew said. "Our girls battled hard to the end and I'm very proud of their effort."
Coming out aggressive to start, the Blackbirds had their first quality chance less than 30 seconds into the match as senior Toni Smith had a go but her shot was stopped by Erin McNulty.
The Nittany Lions responded with the next three shots, including an attempt from Maya Hayes in the third minute that was denied on a kick save from junior goalkeeper Jessica Sexton.
In the 13th minute, junior Caroline Kaplan fired a shot from 20 yards out but her attempt sailed high over the crossbar. Kaplan would have another chance later in the first half but was not credited with a shot.
The 25th minute saw Penn State open the scoring on a counter as All-American Christine Nairn scored her 11th goal of the year off a feed from Mallory Weber.
A pair of freshmen connected towards the end of the opening half to double the home team's lead. Mallory Peterson dribbled the ball down the right side and crossed to classmate Raquel Rodriguez, who one-touched a shot under a diving Sexton to put the score at 2-0 heading into halftime.
Sexton came up big with a pair of saves to start the second half in the 57th and 66th minute. And following the second save, the Blackbirds had a golden opportunity to cut their deficit in half as senior Evelyn Calderon fired a shot just wide from 18 yards out at the 66:01 mark.
The score would stay the same until the 77th minute, when Tani Costa scored her sixth goal of the year off a pass from Maya Hayes. Hayes would tack on her own goal in the 81st minute to provide the final margin.
Sexton closed with four saves in the contest, while McNulty finished with one.