Women’s Soccer Opens Season With 5-0 Loss to Oberlin
ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona women's soccer team competed in a regular season game for the first time since Fall 2019 on Saturday afternoon, when the Lions fell 5-0 to non-conference opponent Oberlin College at Spring Run Stadium.
Oberlin (2-0) scored two first half goals, then tacked on three more in the latter stages of the second half.
Adeline Baustert (Apollo, PA/Apollo-Ridge) made three saves between the pipes for Penn State Altoona in her first collegiate start in goal. Mallorie Smith (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) attempted two shots, putting one shot on goal, and Sarah Huston (Coatesville, PA/Coatesville) also finished with two shot attempts.
Oberlin grabbed a lead early in the first half, when Camille Franklin took a centering pass in the box from Heather Benway and scored at 4:21 to put the visitors on the board. The Yeowomen increased their lead to 2-0 just under 18 minutes later, when Maya Blevins dribbled up the middle of the field and scored on a shot from inside the box at 22:04.
The score remained 2-0 until Oberlin scored three goals in the span of 9:35 late in the second half.
Maricel Mequi upped her team's lead to 3-0 at 70:04, getting the ball off of a deflection in the box and heading it past the keeper. She scored another tally at the 75:58 mark, taking a pass from Zoe Garver in front of the net and sending a shot past the goalie to make it 4-0. Claire Vallely finished the scoring at 79:39, receiving Benway's pass from the right side of the box and scoring on a short shot from the left to put the score at 5-0.
Penn State Altoona women's soccer plays its first road game of the 2021 season tomorrow, Sunday, September 5, heading west to face non-conference opponent Westminster College at 1:00 p.m.
