PHOENIXVILLE, Pa. - The Penn State Harrisburg women's soccer team has been improving steadily all season and the Lions' game against Valley Forge Christian on Tuesday, Oct. 16 was another contest in which the blue and white worked on improving where they left off after this past weekend's back-to-back wins. The ladies again played well and picked up their third-straight victory by besting the Patriots 5-2.
Ashley Pittman (Redmond, Wash. / Bear Creek) got Harrisburg started in the first half with a quality strike from outside the 18 yard box that hit the bottom of the crossbar in the top right corner before finding the net and giving the sophomore her first goal of the day and season.
Rachel Shetler (Pequea, Pa. / Penn Manor) scored her fifth goal of the season to make the score 2-0 shortly thereafter.
The home team however, would not quit and earned themselves a goal just a few minutes later to cut the deficit to just one score.
Mackenzie Gates (Harrisburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin), usually the Lions' goalkeeper who played the field on this day, answered back and gave the visitors some breathing room by scoring her third goal of the season and making the score 3-1 at the half.
But Valley Forge Christian came out revitalized and grabbed the first goal of the second half to some pressure back on the Lions to pick up their level of play.
Harrisburg responded well as Lyndsay Naughton (Reading, Pa. / Reading Central Catholic) put the game away by scoring both of the blue and white's second half goals.
Click here to view postgame comments from sophomore Lauren Ertl (Wildwood, N.J. / Williamstown).
"These are the games that can be the most difficult to bring your top game level; playing against a non-conference team with only one win," said Penn State Harrisburg Head Coach Adam Clay. "But great teams don't play down to other teams' levels; they play their high-level game every time they step on the pitch regardless of who it is against."
"Once we get to that first playoff game there may not be another opportunity for us to work on getting better," he continued. "We need to know every minute of practice and game time leading up to that playoff game could be the difference in winning or losing a championship. If we bring that mentality and mindset over the next couple of weeks, we are going to be a very tough team to beat come playoffs."
To view postgame comments from sophomore Chelsea Dimmig (Elizabethtown, Pa. / Elizabethtown), click here.
The Lions next match comes on the road against North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) rival Penn State Abington in a game that will have major implications on the league's postseason picture. Kickoff is Saturday at 12 p.m.