Melissa Martin dribbling
Tyler Schueck
1
Alvernia ALVERNIA (2-4-1)
8
Winner Penn State Berks PSBW (1-3-1)
Alvernia ALVERNIA
(2-4-1)
1
Final
8
Penn State Berks PSBW
(1-3-1)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Alvernia ALVERNIA 1 0 1
Penn State Berks PSBW 2 6 8

Game Recap: Women's Soccer |

Martin nets hat trick, Nittany Lions pull away late to top Alvernia

READING, PA - Melissa Martin netted a hat trick and the Penn State Berks women's soccer team used a second half outburst to defeat Alvernia College in a non-conference contest on Wednesday evening.

The Nittany Lions were finally able to crack the win column, improving to 1-3-1 overall, while the Golden Wolves drop to 2-3-1 on the year.

Martin put Berks on the board in the 11th minute when she collected a loose ball and ripped a line drive from the edge of the 18-yard box, the shot deflected off the bottom side of the crossbar and over the end line for a 1-0 lead.

The lead went away in the 24th minute after the Nittany Lions turned the ball over deep in their own territory. Melissa Stahl capitalized on the miscue by chipping the ball over the keeper's head and evening the match at 1-all.

It appeared the score was going to remain 1-1 going into the break, but Berks put together a couple of nice passes and worked the ball down the field. Caitlin Golden crossed the ball in front of net from the right side and Martin was able to head it inside the far left post for a 2-1 advantage with 16 seconds left in the opening half.

With the momentum now on back on their side, Berks came out of the break with three shots and a corner kick to put pressure on the Golden Wolves. Then in the 54th minute, Golden knocked a ball toward net that the keeper got a hand on, but Martin came crashing in and deflected the ball into the open net to give some breathing room.

Monica Pinel added a spark off the bench with a pair of goals in the 30 minutes of the game. Her first tally came when Jess Mandeville chipped the ball over the defense and Pinel flipped the ball over the keeper's head and into net. The other tally came in a very similar fashion, this time it was Karina Raykova chipping over the defense and Pinel again put a flip over the keeper's head.

Megan Jardine notched her first goal of the season with a nice redirection on an attempted clear by the Alvernia defense. Gabby Crawford played a perfect through ball to set up a score by Golden. The final goal of the evening came when Jardine's had a free kick slam off the post, but Crawford sent the rebound into the net for the first goal of her collegiate career.

Paige Elmy finished the night with two saves to pick up the win in net, while Kaylee Frapaul was left untested in the final 15 minutes of the match. Alvernia's goalkeeper Jessica Plunkett recorded four stops.

Berks outshot the Golden Wolves by a 25-5 margin (12-3 on goal) and held a 5-2 advantage on corner kicks.

The Nittany Lions will start up conference action when they host the College of Saint Elizabeth on Saturday, September 23 at 3 p.m.
 
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