Hazleton tops Schuylkill 8-0 in home opener

Hazleton, Pa. - The Lady Lions served up a heavy dose of offense on Thursday night when they hosted Penn State Schuylkill in the home opener as the Lions steam rolled their way to an 8-0 win in non-league action. Seniors Ariel Rowlands (Dorrance, Pa.) and Katie Oldziejewski (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) along with sophomore Emma Wyllie (Benton, Pa.) knocked in two goals each while the Lady Lions dominated the ball to the tune of 49 shots to just one attempt for the Schuylkill squad. 

Just 25 seconds into Thursday's game, Hazleton grabbed the lead. A through ball by senior Breann Fetterman (Mountain Top, Pa.) found the foot of Oldziejewski up the middle who fllicked the ball to the right side of the box. With a well timed run, Rowlands tucked the ball into the net and Hazleton was off and running. Just over three minutes later, Fetterman was dealing again, this time finding senior Madison Polumbo in the middle of the field who struck a towering line drive from 30 yards out, finding the upper right 90 to give Hazleton a 2-0 cushion in the fourth minute of play. The Lions continue to reel off shots but came up empty over the course of the next 33 minutes until Wyllie capped the half with an unassisted score to put Hazleton up 3-0 at the break. 

Hazleton continued to rack up shots in the second half and out-shined their first period effort with five tallies in the final stanza. Once again it was Rowlands starting off the action, this time with a header off a deflected save by the Schuylkill keeper for her second goal of the night. After that, it was quality passing from Polumbo and senior Lauren Degler (Oley Valley, Pa.) leading to the final four goals of the evening as Hazleton cruised to an 8-0 win. 

A slow night on the defensive led to a comfortable shut-out win for sophomore Devon Keiper (Wilkes-Barre, Pa) who grabbed her first victory in net this season. 

Next Up: Hazleton is off until Saturday when they'll continue non-conference play with a trip to Syracuse, Ny. where they'll face the Bobcats of Bryant and Stratton College. After last season's overtime loss to the Bobcats, Hazleton is eager for the rematch which will take place at 2:00 p.m. on September 7.