Middletown, Pa. - The Penn State Harrisburg women's soccer team faced off against local rival Elizabethtown College on Wednesday September 5th. After a quality first half showing, the Lions struggled to overcome giving up the first goal of the day as the Blue Jays went on to a 3-0 win.

The Lions put together a strong first half, controlling the ball and creating more than a few scoring opportunities.  Their best chance of the half came from a Kaleigh Smedley free kick that the visiting goalkeeper was unable to hold on to.  Mackenzie Haladay was first to act on the rebound, but unfortunately was unable to finish the dangerous opportunity inside the box.  Harrisburg went into the half feeling good about their play, but knew the game may be decided with who scored first.  

As the second half began, Elizabethtown started to find a rhythm and both teams exchanged attacking opportunities.  The Blue Jays took advantage of a few defensive mistakes and then combined well inside the Lions 18 yard box to score a quality goal to take the lead in the 52nd minute.  Harrisburg continued to battle and gained some momentum after the visitors missed a very questionable handball called for a penalty kick that was missed.  Unfortunately, the momentum slowed to a halt after Elizabethtown countered the attacking Lions for the second goal in the 78th minute. 

Penn State has shown the can play with tough teams early in this season, but will need to improve on their consistency to put together 90 minutes of quality soccer.  The Lions return to action against a 1-1-1 Susquehanna side that participated in the NCAA tournament last season.  Harrisburg will travel on Saturday for a 3:00 pm kickoff in hopes of getting back to the .500 mark.