Penn State Harrisburg 2, St. Mary's (Md.) 0
Harrisburg Starters
Arnold, Six, Haladay, Dichio, Derrickson, Fake, Smedley, Smith, Sharrow, Vavrek, Hemler
SMC Starters
Flores, Huey, Garofolo, Giron, Pastel, David, Smedley, Mosesman, Hall, Faranetta, Harris
How It Happened
Penn State Harrisburg picked up a valuable late-season victory over Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) foe St. Mary's (Md.) on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 20. The Lions shut out their conference counterpart 2-0 in Maryland to improve their potential playoff seeding heading into the final week of the regular season.
The contest had the makings of a defensive struggle in the first half, with neither team breaking through in the opening 45 minutes. Despite being outshot, the Blue & White defense held for the game's duration, allowing the offense to find the back of the net early in the second half.
The Lions (8-9-1, 2-4 CAC) finally got on the board when Hollie Holthaus put her attempt past Seahawks' goalkeeper Katie Flores and into the lower right corner of the goal off a find from Madison Hemler in the 59th minute.
Harrisburg doubled the advantage less than 10 minutes later when Tabitha Fake took advantage of a St. Mary's (Md.) foul by beautifully converting a free kick from nearly 30 yards out, essentially putting the game out of reach with 20:52 left to play.
The Seahawks (7-9-1, 2-3-1 CAC) got off seven shots on frame in the final 14 minutes but Penn State Harrisburg goalkeeper Kayla Arnold made the stop on each attempt to preserve the lead down the stretch and clinch the shutout victory.
Inside the Numbers
- This was Penn State Harrisburg's fifth shutout win of the season.
- St. Mary's (Md.) held the edge in total shots (16-8) and shots on goal (9-5).
- The home team recorded four corner kicks, while the Lions were awarded two.
- Madison Hemler's assist upped her point total to 12 on the year.
- Tabitha Fake's marker was her first of the season.
- Kayla Arnold made nine saves in net to earn the victory for Penn State Harrisburg.
- Seahawks' goalkeeper Katie Flores made three saves.
Who's Next?
The Lions wrap up their regular season at Frostburg State on Wednesday night.
Stay Connected
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