MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – The Penn State Harrisburg women's soccer team came out hard and ready to play against the very talented Dickinson Red Devils.  The home team came out firing in the first ten minutes but the Lions were able to withstand the early pressure and settled into the game. 

Unfortunately a Penn State Harrisburg bad touch sent Dickinson's Allie Young (New Canaan, Conn. / St. Luke's) out on a fast break with no one but goalkeeper Mackenzie Gate (Harrisburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin) to defend her and Young finished the ball strongly in the back of the net.  The Devils went on to score the next two goals as well, giving them a 3-0 lead late in the first half. 

The Lions tried to make it a game going into the second half with a quality Fay Ansary (Hummelstown, Pa. / Hershey) run from midfield.  The freshman took a great ball from center midfielder Rachel Shetler (Peqliea, Pa. / Penn Manor) all the way from the center circle where she then stopped, let a few chasing defenders pass by and cut the goalie before burying her first collegiate goal in the right side of the net. 

"All we needed to do was get to halftime at 3-1 and it could have been a very different game" said Coach Clay. 

Unfortunately for the lions, Jenna Lamb (Fairfax, Va. / Robinson Secondary) scored with under a minute left to play in the first half making it 4-1 at the halftime. 

In the second half the Lions showed a ten minute glimpse of what they can do when playing at their best both individually and as a team.  They created some fair shots and kept it consistently on Dickinson's defensive end.  But the good play by Penn State Harrisburg came to an abrupt end when Olivia Licata (Upper Saddle River, N.J. / Northern Highlands) scored the Red Devils' fifth goal of the contest. 

The blue and white, whose team fitness level showed it needed work, had to endure a final 30     minutes that included four more goals, ending the game at a tough 9-1 loss. 

"We definitely had a tough first game (also Clay's first career game as a head collegiate coach), but if we fix two or three tactical points, many of the goals could have been avoided," said Clay following the game.  "I also feel good that we had ten minutes in each half where we played right at their level.  Since the game is 90 minutes and not 20, fitness will be a key factor to us improving"

Hopefully help is already on its way to the Lions.  Next week the girls will be joined by newly hired Asst. Coach Dave Brixius, a former Marywood goalkeeper.  Brixius is also the owner and operator of Explosive Sports Performance in Harrisburg which specializes in working with athletes' fitness, strength, speed, agility and injury prevention.