Beaver Falls on the Road to Hazleton

By: Matylda Zamudio 

Hazleton, Pa. -- The Penn State Beaver women's soccer team traveled to Hazleton on Monday afternoon, to face off against conference rival Penn State Hazleton. The ladies come into the game off a win against Penn State Scranton, who forfeited on Sept. 23. Beaver sits at a 3-3 overall record and a 2-1 record in the conference standings. With a win today, Beaver will take the second-place spot from Hazleton in the PSUAC standings. 

As the first period started, Hazleton took early possession of the ball and ran the ball down to Beaver's net. Hazleton didn't let up on attacking the net and scored a goal less than 40 seconds later. Three minutes in, Hazleton shot at goal, but Beaver's Brittany Zahn saved the ball. Then in the next seven minutes, Beaver gained possession of the ball and Joy Baker, defense, shot at Hazleton's goal but it was saved. Four minutes later, Baker attempted to score again, but the shot was also saved. Then Hazleton once again gained possession of the ball and scored a second goal 16 minutes into the game, putting Beaver down by two goals. Off a fast break in midfield, Abbie Miller shot at goal five seconds later, but it was saved by Hazleton's goalie. Then, Hazleton charged down to Beaver's scoring zone and earned the team's third goal. Despite three substitutions from Beaver in the next 17 minutes to slow down Hazelton's momentum, Hazelton scored the fourth goal in the 34th minute, and Beaver ended the first half down 0-4. 

In the second half, Beaver struggled in the midfield and allowed Hazleton to maintain possession of the ball for most of the period. Zahn continued to protect the net and saved three balls by the 65th minute. However, Zahn was not able to stop Hazleton from scoring another goal on an assist three minutes later. The Lady Lions grew frustrated with the team's current five-point deficit and received two fouls in the 68th minute. Bukuru Edisa attempted a late-game shot but the ball hit the crossbar. Edisa tried again with less than five minutes to go in the game, but the shot was too wide. As the clock ran out on the conference matchup, Beaver ended the game with a final score 0-5.

Monday's loss drops Beaver's record to 2-2 in the PSUAC conference standings, but the team remains in third place and is now 3-4 overall for the regular season. The women's soccer team will take part in more regular season action this Saturday, Oct. 6 where they face off against Penn State Lehigh Valley. Game time is set at 2 p.m.