Hazleton bounces back to move past Schuylkill 9-0
Hazleton, Pa. - Just three days after a shutout loss, the Lady Lions rebounded to earn their second Penn State University Athletic Conference win of the season, pitching a shutout of their own against Penn State Schuylkill. Both teams battled sloppy conditions on Thursday on the Hazleton campus, but the rain and mud failed to slow the Lady Lion offense. Hazleton surged past Schuylkill with a dynamic performance in the first half resulting in a 9-0 win for the Lions.
The Lady Lions controlled the tempo all evening and junior Breann Fetterman (Mountain Top, Pa.) was in the center of the action from start to finish. Hazleton's midfield general dished out a pair of assists in the early stages, first to junior Madison Polumbo (Hazleton, Pa.) and moments later to freshman Emma Wyllie (Benton, Pa.). That was just the start of a big night for the Lady Lions as goals followed from Hazleton's trio of seniors, Lauren Degler (Oley Valley, Pa.), Katie Oldziejewski (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) and Ariel Rowlands (Dorrance, Pa.). Fetterman would accumulate three assists midway through the half before tacking on a score of her own, and capped the first half outpour with a connection to Josephine Selekpoh (Philadelphia, Pa.). In total, seven Lady Lions would get in on the action, leading to an 8-0 advantage at the break.
With a nice cushion on the scoreboard, it was a healthy dose of defense and ball control for Hazleton in the second half. The Schuylkill squad threatened on several occasions, but each time Hazleton came up with all the necessary stops to keep a clean sheet. The Lions solid passing game continued to wear down the Schuylkill defense and as the clock wound towards all zeros, Hazleton struck for one final tally. Once again, it was Fetterman striking from the left side to capping what would be an eight point effort by the junior.
Next up: With the win, Hazleton remains unbeaten in the PSUAC, a mark they'll look to maintain as conference play continues on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Lions will meet up with western Pennsylvania rival Penn State Beaver at 4:00 p.m. at the Hazleton campus.