No. 7 Penn State women blank No. 2 Stanford, 2-0
PALO ALTO, Calif. (Via Penn State University) – Despite being outshot 16-4 in the contest, the No. 7 Penn State women’s soccer team shut out No. 2 Stanford, 2-0, in front of 1,436 fans at Cagan Stadium Friday night.
Penn State improves to 4-1-1 on the season, while Stanford suffers its first loss of the year (4-1-0).
“I am incredibly proud in how the players responded to the loss against West Virginia,” head coach Erica Walsh said. “They stuck to the game plan and executed against a really good Stanford team.”
“I think we are a young team and we learn a lesson from each game,” Walsh added. “The team was not pleased with their performance against West Virginia and they were anxious to get back on the field. There was a buzz about the group that we did not see last week.”
The Nittany Lions did not waste their shot opportunities in the match, as Penn State scored on two of its four shots, including the first shot of the contest. In the 10th minute, Megan Schafer (Langhorne, Pa.) and Frannie Crouse (Greensburg, Pa.) teamed up to put the Nittany Lions up 1-0.
The scoring opportunity was set up from Crouse, Nickolette Driesse (Wayne, N.J.) and Raquel Rodriguez (San Jose, Costa Rica) forcing a Stanford turnover.
After the turnover outside the box, Driesse passed the ball to Schafer, who took two touches and found the left foot of Crouse. With the Cardinal defense beat, Crouse fired a left-footed shot on goal from about 10 yards out from the left side of the box.
Crouse’s shot went past a diving Jane Campbell, hit the right post and bounced into the back of the net for her third goal of the season.
Crouse’s goal in the 10th minute snapped Stanford’s shutout scoreless streak of roughly 370 minutes.
Though they were outshot, 8-2, in the first 45 minutes of play, the Nittany Lion defense kept the Cardinal offense in check. Stanford did not tally a shot in the penalty area in the first half.
In the first half, keeper Britt Eckerstrom (Germantown, Md.) tallied three saves for the Blue and White.
Stanford had an opportunity early in the second half to tie the match. Off a set piece in the 53rd minute, Stephanie Amack headed the ball wide of the net. Amack’s header in the 53rd minute was the first shot attempt in the box for the Cardinal.
The Nittany Lions added to the lead in the 66th minute off of Brittany Basinger’s (Purcellville, Va.) first career goal. Crouse, one-on-one with a Cardinal defender, passed the ball from near the endline of the right side of the box to Basinger. Basinger, running towards the net, volleyed a shot from about four yards out to give the Nittany Lions a 2-0 lead.
Looking to cut the Nittany Lion lead in the closing minutes of the second half, the Cardinal continued to apply pressure on the Nittany Lion defense. After the Basinger goal, Stanford attempted five shots, but Eckerstrom only needed to record one save in the second half.
Along with Basinger and Crouse, Rodriguez and Schafer both tallied shot attempts against Stanford.
The Nittany Lions conclude their non-conference schedule on Sunday, Sept. 13, against Santa Clara at 1 p.m. PDT Following the match against Santa Clara, Penn State returns home to Jeffrey Field to host Wisconsin live on BTN on Thursday, Sept. 17, at 7 p.m.
