WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — One goal was all Penn College needed. Megan Kurian scored in the 55th minute, and the Wildcats held on for a 1-0 United East Conference win over the St. Mary’s College of Maryland women’s soccer team Saturday, Oct. 10, at UPMC Field.
The loss dropped St. Mary’s to 4-7-3 overall and 3-2-0 in the conference, according to the college’s game recap. Penn College improved to 8-3-1 and 4-1-0. The result came a week after the Seahawks scored 11 first-half goals against Keystone and followed a 6-0 home win over Wilson on Oct. 7.
The goal
The teams went into halftime scoreless. Penn College had the better of the set pieces in the first half, earning six corner kicks to St. Mary’s two, and Seahawks goalkeeper Breanna Brown made three saves, including stops on Kurian and on a Gianna Gamble header.
Kurian broke through at 54:41, finishing a pass from Mikayla Gordon for her 11th goal of the season, according to the official box score.
St. Mary’s pressed for an equalizer and outshot the Wildcats 7-6 in the second half, putting four shots on goal. Penn College keeper Harley Oliphant saved all of them, finishing with six saves and the shutout. Both teams picked up a yellow card at 88:37, Allie Petryszak for St. Mary’s and Eva White for Penn College.
Who stood out
Charlotte Bryan and Maddison Spradlin each had three shots with two on goal for St. Mary’s. Spradlin did it in 36 minutes off the bench. Addy Campbell and Keira O’Neail added two shots apiece, and Jill Kemp and O’Neail each put one on target.
Brown played all 90 minutes and made four saves. Petryszak, Bryan and Erin Clark also went the full 90.
For Penn College, Kurian led all players with three shots, two on goal.
By the numbers
| Team stat | St. Mary’s | Penn College |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | 0 | 1 |
| Shots (on goal) | 13 (6) | 11 (5) |
| Saves | 4 | 6 |
| Corner kicks | 3 | 7 |
| Fouls | 14 | 7 |
| Yellow cards | 1 | 1 |
Up next
St. Mary’s stays on the road for a United East match at Penn State Berks in Reading, Pennsylvania, at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, according to the team’s schedule. The Seahawks return home Saturday, Oct. 17, to host Cedar Crest at 3 p.m. on Senior Day at Jamie L. Roberts Stadium.
