Women’s Soccer Gets Overtime Win in AMCC Tourney Opener
ALTOONA, Pa. – Hosting its first Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Tournament home game since 2011, the Penn State Altoona women's soccer team pulled off an exciting 3-2 overtime win against La Roche University at Spring Run Stadium on Saturday.
The fourth-seeded Lions (8-9) overcame second half deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 and get past five seed La Roche (5-11-1) in the teams' first round AMCC Tournament matchup. With the win, Penn State Altoona advances to the conference semifinal round, where the Lions will travel to Erie to face top-seeded Penn State Behrend this Wednesday, November 3 at 3:30 p.m.
Mallorie Smith (Bellefonte, PA/Bellefonte) scored two goals for Penn State Altoona, including the overtime game-winner. Sadie McConnell (New Enterprise, PA/Northern Bedford) also scored a goal for the Lions, and Sarah Huston (Coatesville, PA/Coatesville) tallied a pair of assists.
Jadyn Michael (Berwick, PA/Berwick) started at goalkeeper for Penn State Altoona and made one save in a no decision. Adeline Baustert (Apollo, PA/Apollo-Ridge) entered in relief, playing the final 10:07 of the game to pick up her sixth win of the season.
Penn State Altoona dominated the stat sheet during the first half, outshooting La Roche 16-4 in shot attempts, but the Lions came up emptyhanded as the teams played to a scoreless tie by halftime.
La Roche broke through for the game's first goal early in the second half. Alexandra Mecchia dribbled the ball up the middle of the field and unleashed a long shot from outside the box that skipped through the goalkeeper's hands at the 54:49 mark, giving the Redhawks a 1-0 lead.
The visitors clung to their one-goal lead for nearly 20 minutes, until Penn State Altoona was finally able to even the score. Huston chipped a short pass forward toward La Roche's box, where McConnell fired a shot from just outside the box that deflected down off of the crossbar and into the goal at 73:19 to tie the game 1-1. McConnell's goal was her seventh of the season.
La Roche responded by reclaiming the lead just over three minutes later. Chastity Bundy sent a long pass up the left sideline, where Alondra Gonzalez took it, dribbled by a defender, and sailed a long shot from outside the box into the top right corner of the goal to put the Redhawks back in front, 2-1, at 76:38.
Penn State Altoona tied things up with under 10 minutes remaining in regulation. Amanda Hazel (Clearfield, PA/Clearfield) sent a quick pass forward to Smith, who pulled the trigger on a shot near the edge of the box. Smith's shot deflected into the top right corner of the goal, tying the score 2-2 at the 81:46 mark and ultimately sending the game into overtime.
Smith struck again 4:34 into overtime to give the Lions the victory. After Huston set up Smith with a pass at the edge of the box, Smith dribbled into the box and tucked a well-placed shot past the keeper and into the bottom left corner of the goal. The score was Smith's team-leading 11th of the season, as well as her fourth game-winner of the fall.
Penn State Altoona finished its day with big statistical advantages over La Roche in shot attempts (28-9), shots on goal (17-3), and corner kicks (4-1).
Smith led all players in the game with 10 shot attempts – tying for the sixth-most shots taken in a game in Lions history – putting six shots on goal. McConnell finished with three shots on goal out of four total attempts, and KK Wolfe (Coatesville, PA/Coatesville) had five shot attempts with two on goal. Kayla Grove (Downingtown, PA/Downingtown East) and Huston recorded two shots on goal apiece.
