Presidents Edge Lady Lions 2-1
ALTOONA, Pa. – Penn State Altoona women's soccer suffered its second consecutive one-goal loss at home, when the Lady Lions were defeated 2-1 by Washington & Jefferson College on Tuesday evening at Spring Run Stadium.
Arianna Mancini (Abington, PA/Abington) scored her second goal of the season for Penn State Altoona (2-5-1), and Kierra Irwin (Altoona, PA/Altoona) recorded an assist.
Kaitlyn Harmon (Sunbury, PA/Shikellamy) started in goal for the Lady Lions, playing 64:34 and making four saves. Diana Miller (Haymarket, VA/Battlefield) finished the game, logging a scoreless 25:26 between the pipes.
W&J (2-5) got goals from Chandler Marteeny and Wies Achtereekkte.
Penn State Altoona wasted little time netting the game's first goal. Irwin sent a short pass forward in the box to Mancini, who tucked a five-yard shot inside the left goal post at 2:04 to give the home team a 1-0 lead.
But the Presidents took advantage of a corner kick to tie the game up at the 17-minute mark. McKenna Lewis' corner kick sailed into the box, where it was taken by Marteeny and shot past the keeper to even the score at 1-1.
The visitors jumped ahead before halftime, as Achtereekte collected a loose ball in the box and sent a shot into an open goal to put W&J on top, 2-1, at 38:51.
The second half was scoreless, but it did not lack scoring opportunities. Each team had several chances to add to their goal totals, including three hit crossbars.
W&J nearly tallied a third goal at 55:49 when Lexey Finney's shot deflected off of the crossbar. Just under three minutes later, Penn State Altoona came inches from tying the game when an Olivia Venturino (Woodbridge, VA/Woodbridge) shot hit the bar.
The Lady Lions again came close to tying the score at 82:32, when KK Wolfe's (Coatesville, PA/Coatesville) shot deflected off of the crossbar.
Despite the scoring chances, the 2-1 score held up throughout the second period, and W&J escaped with the one-goal victory.
By the end of the game, Penn State Altoona held advantages over W&J in shots attempted (19-10), shots on goal (9-6), and corner kicks (9-5).
Irwin led all players in the game with six shots attempted and tied for the game-high with three shots on goal. Sarah Huston (Coatesville, PA/Coatesville) had three shot attempts, and Mancini finished with two shots on goal.
Penn State Altoona women's soccer returns to Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference play on Saturday, September 28, when the Lady Lions travel to face new conference opponent Alfred State College. Game time is set for 4:15 p.m.
