Penn State women’s soccer looks to bounce back in matchup against Liberty
No. 11 Penn State will look to extinguish the Flames when it returns home to Jeffrey Field to face Liberty in its last non-conference contest of the season.
The Flames come in red hot, winning three straight games to improve their record to 4-1-1 on the season. Liberty has done it on both ends with offensive firepower along with sizzling defense.
As for the Nittany Lions, the offensive attack that scored two or more goals in the first four contests of the season has scored just one goal in their last two games.
Even with a lack of production on offense, the Nittany Lions were able to take the second game of their California trip over Santa Clara to rebound following a shutout at the hands of No. 12 Stanford.
The defense has also been struggling as of late, yielding 38 shots throughout those two games, with 15 of those shots finding their way to Katherine Asman.
As the team has gone cold, Asman has heated up, saving 13 of those 15 shots to boost her save total to 21 on the season. Asman has been a part of three Nittany Lions shutouts this season, though one of them was combined with Morgan Messner, and posts a goals against average of .88.
If Penn State is not able to tighten up the defense led by Mieke Schiemann, who has also shown versatility with two goals on the offensive end, Asman will have the heat put on her again.
That aforementioned offensive firepower of the Flames comes from their ability to not only to get shots off, but to get them on the net. They have outshot opponents 96-45 throughout their six games, and in terms of shots on goal, they hold the advantage 43-25.
The shots come in hot from Halle Engle and Chloe Marr. Engle leads the team with 16 shots and seven shots on goal, while Marr has 11 shots and four shots on goal.
Though she may not put up the influx of shots like some of her teammates, McKinley Burkett has been a force on offense. The redshirt senior from Virginia leads the team with three goals and six points while appearing in five of the six games.
Liberty will look to keep their offensive prowess alive against the Nittany Lions' defense that has allowed over half of their season shots in their last two contests.
The Nittany Lion offense needs to start hunting some quality shots of their own. Despite over half of their shots finding their way on goal, 41 of 79, the Nittany Lions have put up 13 total shots in their last two games, with six of them finding the net.
Ally Schlegel has led the offensive efforts with three goals, with Schiemann adding two and five other players adding one a piece, along with getting the help of one own goal.
That offense will look to reignite against a stout Flames’ defense and goalkeeper.
Liberty has yielded just three goals thus far, with two of them coming in its win over Marshall, as four of their games have ended with shutouts on the defensive end.
A big reason for that is goalkeeper Ainsley Leja who has a goals against average of .50. Leja has three shutouts this season, which is good for No. 19 in the country. The sophomore from Rockford, Michigan, also helped in a combined shutout effort.
The Nittany Lions have navigated a portion of the gauntlet that is their schedule that included three ranked opponents and the 2020 National Champion. A win would be a positive as they roll into conference play, but Liberty will look to ensure that it does not happen.
Justin Ciavolella is a second-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jtc5751@psu.edu.
