16 I MONDAY AUG. 30 2010
Bad Habits sink No. 12 Nittany Lions
By Andrew Robinson
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Even before the decisive goal
found its way to the back of the net
and even before the slow start to
the second half,
the Pr SI
U. !elm Mate
women's soccer WOMEN'S
team didn't play to SOCCER
its expectations
against William &
Mary Sunday afternoon.
The No. 12 Nittany Lions fell 2-1
to the Tribe and continued to show
several bad tendencies that have
developed this season. If there is a
positive to Sunday's loss, however,
it's that the season is still young
and there is time to turn things
around.
"[We told the players] it's the
third game of the season and they
can decide what they want to be
all about," Lions coach Erica
Freshman Schram's energy continues to help Lions
Sarah Finnegan/Collegan
Taylor Schram (19) battles with a Virginia player in Friday night's
opening game
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Walsh said. "If this is going to long passes that bypass the cre
define us on Sundays it's going to ativity in the midfield.
be a long season. If this is going to
stop here we
could go very far.
but they've got a
decision to make.'
Walsh pointed
to the players'
poor mindset,
thinking they
were going to win
the game without Walsh
having to work for
it. The Lions (1-1-1) got off to slow
starts in both halves, and especial
ly the second, that had them fran
tically working to simply clear the
ball out of its third of the field.
In Penn State's two previous
matches, its speed and athleticism
gave opposing defenses plenty of
trouble. However, that blessing
has also been a negative, as the
Lions have started a reliance on
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"We need to possess it way
more than we have been," senior
forward Dani Toney said. "We've
tho
7
'list been clearing the ball out of
e back when we could hold onto
it and keep it and play through our
midfield more often."
In the beginning of last season,
the Lions struggled to finish scor
ing opportunities. That problem
seems to have appeared again so
far this year. On Sunday, the team
fired 24 shots, but only five on net
and have scored just four goals in
its three games.
While last year's team had
seven seniors to rely on, this sea
son's team is much younger and if
the upperclassmen aren't in the
game, it could sfiffie the team's
production. Sunday, Walsh said
she felt there weren't enough play
ers in the starting lineup with the
Taylor Schram could only flash a
quick smile as a well-intentioned
ball slid a little too far in front of her
and out of bounds.
Despite the misplay, Schram had
every right to smirk after turning in
a strong showing in the Penn State
women's soccer team's 1-1 double
overtime draw with the University
of Virginia Friday night. For
Schram, finally playing on Jeffrey
Field was something she had been
looking forward to for two years.
"It was the best experience ever.
I've been waiting a long time for it
and the crowd was great," Schram
said Friday. "The team was really
prepared. We were working really
hard for it. We didn't get the result
we wanted, but we worked hard
and overall it was an exciting
night."
Schram didn't enter the game
until the 31st minute but was an
immediate spark when she stepped
on the field. Throughout the first
half, Cavaliers holding midfielder
Colleen Flanagan had too much
space, which allowed her to easily
break Penn State's advances into
Virginia's side.
As she was warming up, Schram
said Penn State coach Erica Walsh
told her to focus on dealing with
Flanagan and filling in that space.
SPORTS
By Andrew Robinson
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
right attitude, so the coach turned
to her bench.
The play of junior Ali Schaefer,
redshirt junior Meghan Gill, fresh
man Bri Hovington and sopho
more Maddy Evans in the first half
earned them second half starts.
Schaefer said the coaches told the
reserves to get the game under
control.
"The main agenda was just to
keep the ball, whether it be a
three-yard pass or a five-yard pass
or that 40-yard bomb, just find a
blue jersey and keep the ball,"
Schaefer said. "We just needed to
settle it down."
Walsh and Toney both said
William & Mary wanted the game
more and Walsh saw a desire
from the Lions to score, but no
execution or effort to do it. With
the team preparing for a weekend
long road trip each of the next two
weeks, there will be an extra
Aside from plugging up the middle,
Schram kept running and making
plays, earning a start in the second
half and both overtimes.
"She's just a workhorse," Walsh
said of Schram Friday. "She's good
in the air, she covers a lot of ground.
She did a good job at plugging up
their holding midfielder who I
thought was giving us a lot of prob
lems in the first half. She seemed to
be the right piece [Friday night]
and that's what we're trying to do,
is put the right pieces in at the right
time."
While the freshman's final stat
line only showed two shots, it didn't
show the countless hustle plays
and two outlet balls that nearly led
to goals. Late in the second half,
Schram flipped a ball in the air out
of the midfield to defender Emma
Thomson who then took a shot that
would have gone in except for a
great save over the crossbar by
Virginia keeper Chantel Jones.
In the first overtime, Schram put
another well-placed lob pass to the
feet of forward Dani Toney that the
Lions were unable to convert in the
box. Despite being one of, if not the,
smallest players on the field,
Schram didn't concede anything
easily and meshed with central
midfielder Christine Nairn, who
likes what she's seen from Schram
so far.
"Her attitude is just, 'What can I
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emphasis on making sure the
competitive mindset is rebuilt.
Once the team takes the prac
tice field, Walsh said coaches are
going to push competition in every
drill.
Schaefer believes this game can
be a turning point for the Lions
and it will bring a different side out
of the team. The junior said the
team realizes that it's "breakable"
and she expects her teammates to
"bring it" the rest of the season.
"We're going to remain focused
and working hard, it's just about
finding our rhythm," Schaefer
said. "It's a Ghandi quote that
comes to me after this game,
`When you lose, don't lose the les
son.' It's really early in the season
and there's a lesson to be learned
here, and I'm thankful that it came
this early"
To e-mail reporter: adrso79@psu.edu
do to help the team and what can I
do to make everybody else better
around me?' and that's very
unique," Nairn said. "For her, it's a
team mentality and, 'What can I do
to make Carly fNiness] better or
Emma better?' That and, she hus
tles her little heart out. She's a little
girl out there, I feel like I'm so
much older than her, but she's defi
nitely been helping us."
In high school, Schram played
mostly as a forward but has played
in the midfield for the Lions so far
and, as a result, has had to pick up
more defensive tendencies.
Against Virginia, she won several
balls in the midfield and was con
stantly chasing down attackers, at
one point bodying up a taller
Cavaliers player, slowing the attack
and letting the Lions win back pos
session.
The freshman ended up playing
73 of the game's 110 minutes,
although she said she wasn't
expecting to play that much. But if
her effort against Virginia is any
indication, Schram is going to
make the most of her time in the
rest of the season.
"I go out there and whatever
minutes I get, I give it my all,"
Schram said. "It was very exciting
playing that much time and I just
gave it my best effort."
To e-mail reporter: adrso79@psu.edu
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