Rain fell steadily over JLR Stadium on Saturday, but it did nothing to cool off the St. Mary’s College of Maryland women’s soccer team, which scored just two minutes into its United East Conference opener and never let up in a 4-0 win over Penn State Abington.
Four different Seahawks found the net, and all four were scoring their first goals of the season — a balanced offensive showing that pushed St. Mary’s College to 2-5-3 overall and 1-0-0 in conference play, while dropping Abington to 0-8-1 and 0-1-0.
Junior forward Makayla Marvray set the tone almost immediately, redirecting a cross from classmate Gracie Tourangeau into the net in the second minute. The Seahawks spent the rest of the half pinning Abington in its own end — they’d finish with a 19-0 shot advantage before intermission alone — and doubled their lead in the 39th minute when first-year midfielder Jill Kemp unleashed a long-range strike that sailed into the top of the net, sending St. Mary’s into the locker room up 2-0.
Whatever momentum Abington hoped to find out of the break lasted less than two minutes. Junior defender Brooke Hall collected a pass from first-year midfielder Charlotte Bryan and drilled a 20-yard shot into the top left corner to make it 3-0, the first goal of her junior season.
The game tilted further out of reach for the Nittany Lions in the second half when goalkeeper Sam Ridler was sent off with a straight red card for a dangerous tackle outside the penalty area, leaving Abington to play the final 38 minutes a player down. St. Mary’s made the extra space count: in the 76th minute, Bryan ran onto a long ball from senior captain Allie Petryszak, worked her way into the box and slotted a shot into the lower left corner for her first collegiate goal — and a goal-and-assist day for the first-year midfielder.
By the final whistle, St. Mary’s had outshot Abington 29-7, held a 14-2 edge in shots on goal, and won the corner count 6-3. Sophomore goalkeeper Breanna Brown made two saves to post her second shutout of the season, while Abington’s Ridler and reliever Kayla Kulp combined for eight saves in a losing effort. The win extended St. Mary’s perfect all-time record against Abington to 5-0.
The Seahawks stay home for their next test, hosting Penn State Harrisburg on Sept. 29 at 4:30 p.m. at JLR Stadium for the program’s Gold Rush game, before hitting the road Oct. 3 to face Keystone in La Plume, Pennsylvania.
