Hazleton makes it three in a row

Schuylkill Haven, Pa. - For the second time in eight days, the Lady Lions shut out Penn State Schuylkill, though Thursday's effort came in entirely different fashion. A defensive struggle for much of the game, Hazleton broke through in the second half to best Schuylkill 2-0 and pick up their third consecutive win. 

Much like their first match a week ago, Hazleton dominated the time of possession in the first half, however in this affair Schuylkill put up a stout defense. The home team stopped all nine of the Lady Lion's shots on target to maintain a stalemate by the end of the first half. That trend continued for 13 minutes of the second half until the Lady Lions struck to break the tie. In the 58th minute, junior Breann Fetterman (Mountain Top, Pa.) dished a long pass through a gap to senior Katie Oldziejewski (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.). The Hazleton forward received the ball and struck a shot off the crossbar, bounding across the line to give Hazleton the 1-0 advantage.

The Lady Lions would nurse that small cushion until junior Madison Polumbo (Hazleton, Pa.) helped get her squad some breathing room. Once again it was the long ball paying dividends for Hazleton as the junior midfielder spotted freshman Emma Wyllie (Benton, Pa.) up field for a breakaway opportunity. Wyllie would capitalize on her attempt, firing a shot to the upper left 90 for the insurance score and final goal of the game. Despite the low score, Hazleton's defense matched and eclipsed a fine effort by Schuylkill. Hazleton allowed just one shot by their opponent with sophomore Devon Keiper (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) coming up with the stop to preserve the shut-out. 

Next up: A busy and important weekend of Penn State University Athletic Conference road matchups await the Lady Lions this weekend. Hazleton will meet up with Penn State Scranton on Saturday followed by a run in with undefeated Penn State Brandywine on Sunday, October 7.