Box Score 9/21/22
 
DUNMORE, Pa. -- Lackawanna College finally got their turn on the pitch in 2022, and the Falcons made up for lost time, overwhelming the visiting Penn State Scranton Nittany Lions 5-0 on Wednesday afternoon at Schautz Stadium in Dunmore.
 
The Falcons (1-0-0) peppered the Nittany Lion defense with 48 shots, 27 of which were on target, scoring a pair of goals in the first half and three in the second to pull away with the comfortable win.
 
Wyoming Valley West product Gwendolyn Langley scored a pair of goals for the Falcons, while Aliyah Shade (Richland, PA), Ashley Goings (Bensalem, PA) and Sarah Manweiler (East Islip, NY) all got on the scoresheet. Shade also picked up a pair of assists. Lackawanna College had a 48-to-3 shots advantage, and had six corners to just one for the Nittany Lions.
 
It only took a few minutes for Lackawanna College to get things started in the first half. Kayleigh Viola (West Islip, NY) was sandwiched by the keeper and a defender from PSU Scranton chasing after a ball in the box, hitting the turf hard and drawing a penalty from the official. Shade would step to the spot, taking a right-footed swipe at the ball and placing in the right side of the net to put the Falcons up 1-0.
 
Both teams settled in over the next ten or so minutes, with the Falcons wasteful with a few possessions and the Nittany Lions struggling to advance beyond the mid-field stripe.
 
Eventually, the pressure from Lackawanna College would start to take its toll on the Penn State defense. In the 16^th minute of the first half, a nifty move from Bipana Ghalle sprung Langley down the right flank, but her right-footed shot lost a little pace as she tried to test the keeper. Two minutes later, Shade had a shot from distance blocked down that resulted in a corner, where Shade took the service from Manweiler and almost got her second of the game, only to have the Nittany Lions clear it out of the box.
 
The breakthrough came a minute later, when Langley made a long run down the right side. She'd center a pass to Shade, who squared it right back to Langley for the right-footed strike to make it 2-0 in the 20^th minute.
 
The Falcons kept the pressure on the rest of the way, including a moment in the 33^rd minute where a Goings run down the left side of the box opened up a lane for her to slide it to Jazly Garcia (Scranton, PA), but Garcia's shot hit the post and bounced out, and the Falcons couldn't get the ball in on the scramble in front of the net. The Nittany Lions would hold out to keep it a 2-0 deficit at the break.
 
The second half saw more possession and pressure from the Falcons, as Lackawanna College continued to exploit the left side of the field with Goings's pace. In the 51^st minute, one such Goings run set up Garcia near the middle of the box, but Garcia sailed the shot high over the crossbar. In the 57^th minute, Langley found some daylight and hit one with her left foot from the top of the box, but the keeper knocked it down and held on for the save. Then, in the 62^nd minute, Viola fed a pass through from the right side to Garcia, who put it on target, but the keeper again made the save.
 
Finally, just 30 seconds later, Goings got her first goal of the year. Manweiler won the ball in the middle of the pitch and slipped Shade the ball down the right side. Shade ran to the end line, turned to the middle, and fired a cross over to Goings, who slipped it behind herself to get it on her left foot, and unleashed a rocket that beat the keeper to make it 3-0, Falcons.
 
Just four minutes later, in the 66^th, Lackawanna College hit again. Shade put a ball into the middle and found Langley, who then, thanks to a good piece of individual skill, dribbled around a pair of defenders, looping right and then darting left, before uncorking a left-footed strike that skipped just inside the pole for her second goal of the game to put the Falcons up 4-0.
 
The last goal came in the 86^th minute, when Viola inbounded the ball from the midfield stripe, launching a pass to Manweiler who turned and quickly accelerated down field before taking a shot with her right-foot, looping a shot over the outstretched arms of the keeper and landed in the top right corner of the netting to make it 5-0, Falcons, and seal a perfect start to the year.
 
Lackawanna College is next scheduled to be in action on Tuesday, September 27^th, when they travel to Newton, NJ to take on Sussex County CC. The game is set for a 2:00pm ET kickoff, and will be the first of a doubleheader, with the men's teams to follow at 4:00pm ET.