Completely outmatched, the Central Connecticut State University women’s soccer team fell, 7-0, to Penn State University on Friday, Nov. 10, at Jefferey Field in the first round of the NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship Tournament.
Penn State scored early and often, burying the Blue Devils in a 2-0 hole in the first 10 minutes of the match. Unable to possess the ball on the opposing side of the field, the Blue Devils could not keep up with the Nittany Lions’ scoring output.
Penn State tallied five more goals during the match, with five players adding to the total.
The Blue Devils were outshot by the Nittany Lions, 29-2.
18 of Penn State’s 29 shots were on goal, keeping CCSU’s goalkeepers busy all match long.
While allowing seven goals on the day, Central’s goalkeepers Caitlin Murphy and Melina Ford also combined for 11 saves, with Murphy adding seven and Ford accounting for four.
The Blue Devils’ lone shot on goal came in the 24th minute when Abbie Burgess flicked a header toward the goal that the Penn State’s goalkeeper easily stopped.
The loss effectively ended the Blue Devils’ 2023 season as well as the collegiate careers of fifth-year players Murphy and 2023 Northeast Conference Offensive Player of the Year Giavanna Inzerillo.
The match against Penn State marked head coach Mick D’Arcy’s 11th trip to the NCAA Tournament. In D’Arcy’s and the Blue Devils’ 11 appearances in the tournament, they have compiled two first-round victories (2003 and 2019) but have never made it past the second round.
