UTICA, NY (September 24, 2011) – Lyndsay Naughton scored two goals and the defense played solid in the Penn State Berks women's soccer teams 2-1 win over SUNYIT in Saturday afternoon's North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) contest. (Boxscore)
With the win, Nittany Lions are now 3-3-1 overall and improve to 3-1-1 in the NEAC, while SUNYIT drops to 3-5 overall and 3-1 in the conference. The Wildcats won all three of the previous matchups against Berks, outscoring the Nittany Lions 10-0 in that time.
Naughton upped her season total to five goals after notching her second straight match with two goals. Alexa Shumate set up the first score after shaking the defense and sending a pass in the air to Naughton. Naughton then headed the ball into the right corner to put Berks up 1-0 at the 25:04 mark.
The Wildcats evened the match on a goal by Stephanie Wurz, but it was short lived. Naughton tallied the decisive score in the 41st minute with Karly Shaffert providing the assist. Naughton ripped a grounder past the keeper into the left corner.
Savannah Cramer and the defensive unit made the one goal lead hold up over the final 50 minutes to secure the win. Cramer finished the contest with three saves. Defender Sam Raimondo was all over the field, thwarting the Wildcats attack all day. Ashley Pardoski, Madi Litwin and Shaffert joined Raimondo to play shutdown defense for the Nittany Lions.
Naughton missed the first hat trick of her career in the second half. Chelsea Ray nearly tacked on a goal in the 80th minute, but her shot hit the post.
Playing on a muddy and rain soaked field, the all-around effort by the Nittany Lions made head coach Adrian Munteanu happy.
"I was pleased with what I saw today," said Munteanu. "The defense played very well and helped us control the match."
The women will return to action tomorrow at noon in an NEAC contest at SUNY Cobleskill.
