Women's soccer wins fifth straight NEAC Title

jmc93
Mon, 06 Nov 2017 17:28:33 +0000

jmc93 Mon, 11/06/2017 - 12:28
The Penn State Berks women's soccer team won its fifth straight North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Championship Title after defeating Penn College on Sunday afternoon. Caitlin Golden was selected as the NEAC Tournament MVP after finishing with seven goals and one assist in the Nittany Lions three postseason games.

With the victory, Berks has punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight year. They will find out their opponent and where they are heading for the regional tournament during the NCAA selection show tomorrow.

The Nittany Lions (15-5-1) got on the board with a goal by Megan Jardine at the 12:06 mark of the opening period. Melissa Martin found the back of the net with an unassisted goal in the 17th minute to extend the lead to 2-0.

The score remained that way for the remainder of the first half, but Golden tacked on a pair of goals in the second period to put the game out of reach. Monica Pinel played a ball over to Golden from inside the box to set up the score in the 51st minute. On Golden's second score of the match, Alexa Lopez crossed a perfect ball from the left side and Golden was able to send a header past the keeper at the 80:31 mark.

The Nittany Lions again possessed the ball for the bulk of the match with the strong play in the midfield (Lopez, Jardine, Julia Green, Charlotte Pizzuto, Pinel) and from the back line (Shelby Baker, Mackenzie Fredricks, Karina Raykova, Jess Mandeville). Paige Elmy, who made the save on the only shot to make it to goal, paired with Kaylee Frapaul to earn the shutout victory, which was the 13th shutout of the season. The Nittany Lions finished the regular season and postseason without conceding a single goal to NEAC opponents.

Ryann Barreto came off the bench to add valuable minutes to the defense, while Gabby Crawford provided depth up top. Sarah McMullen and Amanda McCormick helped in the midfield.

For the game, Berks outshot the Wildcats (9-6-5) by a 27-3 margin and held a 9-0 advantage on corner kicks.

The Nittany Lions will find out their opponent and where they are heading for the first round in the NCAA Selection Show, which takes place on Monday, November 6 at 1 p.m. Click here to access the NCAA Selection Show.