Lady Lions pick up first conference win against Lehigh Valley

By: Matylda Zamudio

ALLENTOWN, Pa.—After holding the challenger to no points, the Penn State Beaver women's soccer team secured its first win of the season in Sunday's PSUAC conference match with as 8-0 shutout performance against host Penn State Lehigh Valley.

The Lady Lions were focused and ready to battle as the game clock started with freshman Veronica Andujar (Weston/American Heritage Boca/Delray) striking first with an early goal at the three-minute mark (1-0). The game went scoreless for the next 17 minutes until sophomore Stephanie Sosa-Bravo (New York/Grand St. Campus) launched the ball straight into Lehigh Valley's net (2-0). In the last 20 minutes of the first period, Andujar knocked-in back-to-back goals in six minutes to give Beaver a 4-0 edge at halftime.

After the break, Beaver kept up the offensive attack on Lehigh Valley as Sosa-Bravo took the feed from Andujar to score a fifth unanswered goal for Beaver (5-0) five minutes into the second. At the 59th minute, Andujar made her way to Lehigh Valley's penalty box and scored to put the opponents in a 6-0 deficit. Over the next 20 minutes, freshman Karyme Martinez (Colorado Springs /James Irwin Charter), hindered Lehigh Valley's scoring attempts with three saves. At the 86th minute, freshman Rachel Gaiser (Evans City/Seneca Valley) scored her first career goal for Beaver, unassisted (7-0).  With only four minutes to go, sophomore Marissa King (Dubois/Dubois Area) and Sosa-Bravo teamed up to deal Lehigh Valley the final blow with King dishing the ball out to Sosa-Bravo, who connected for Beaver's eighth goal and the team's first victory on the season.

Andujar was at the helm of the offense, finishing with four goals on nine shots, seven on goal and one assist, followed by Sosa-Bravo, who contributed three goals on eight shots and had eight SOG. Gaiser added on a goal of her own on her one shot.

Martinez, who goaltended for 30 minutes of the game, had three saves against the three SOG she faced. Freshman Megan Bartley (Austintown/Austintown Fitch), who goaltended for 60 minutes, had two saves against the two SOG she faced.

Beaver outshot Lehigh Valley 10-2 in the first half and 12-7 in the second. Beaver also recorded four corner kicks to Lehigh Valley's zero.

After today's win, Beaver improves to a 1-3 overall record and 1-1 in the PSUAC conference standings. The Lady Lions will host Potomac State College in their next game on Tuesday, Sept. 24. The game is slated for 2 p.m.