Box Score Abington, Pa. - The Penn State Abington Lady Lions recorded their third straight victory Sunday afternoon over the visiting Tigers of SUNY Cobleskill, and did so in a convincing fashion. The home squad outshot the visitors 43-5 on the way to their second shutout in a row, and the win helps the Lady Lions maintain pace for the second spot in the NEAC Conference standings.
 
Coming off a 3-0 win against SUNY IT the day before, the Lady Lions (6-3, 4-1 NEAC) needed seemingly no time to get used to the beautiful turf of the field at the Germantown Academy, as the women dominated possession from the start of the match. In fact, at the fifteen-minute mark, Penn State Abington was averaging a shot per minute, and had already racked up four corners in that same timeframe. Yet the team still had nothing to show for all their hard work nearly 25 minutes into the game, although it seemed inevitable that a breakthrough was coming as the Lady Lions had nailed the crossbar three times already.
 
That opening goal would come in the 25^th minute of the game off the foot of sophomore Samantha Whalen. Whalen took possession of the ball just across midfield and managed to dribble her way, undeterred by any defenders, into the box. About 15 yards out, the second-year midfielder let a shot go that was headed for the left side of the goal. Freshman goalkeeper Bethany Reynolds dove to her right to stop the shot, but the ball took a bad bounce off of a defender and ricocheted into the right side of the goal instead, giving the Lady Lions their well-deserved 1-0 lead.
 
Penn State Abington would get back in the scorebooks once again just ten minutes later, this time off a fine shot from freshman Desirae Holmes. Holmes collected a loose ball on the left side of the offensive third, and managed to take a few dribbles towards the center of the scoring area. Sensing an opening, she sent a high, curling shot on goal from about 20 yards out. The ball bent beautifully overtop of Reynolds and just snuck inside the upper right side of the goal mouth to extend the lead to 2-0.
 
The Lady Lions would close out the scoring on the day with their final goal just five minutes later. In the 40^th minute, Penn State Abington earned a corner kick. Senior Brittany Palmer sent in a great ball that was deflected and bounced around in the box. The ball finally bounced up perfectly to waiting senior Kaitlin Kozole, who sent a perfect shot in off the volley from the penalty shot. The ball was hit so hard, it was in the back of the net before the Fighting Tigers' keeper even had a chance to react. The goal was Kozole's first of the season, and gave the Lady Lions the 3-0 lead that would go unchanged the rest of the way.
 
By the time the second half rolled around, the game already appeared over. Although the Lady Lions maintained a firm grasp on the game, the ball was played much more in the midfield, and the Fighting Tigers (2-7, 2-4 NEAC) managed to get off three shots of their own in the second frame. In the end, sophomore Gabrielle Benedict was once again up to every challenge, making four saves on the day en route to recording her second straight shutout and third of the season.
Penn State Abington now gets a six-day break before they hit the field once again, this time against NEAC Conference foe Wilson College. The Phoenix have struggled so far this season, going 1-8 overall and 1-4 in the NEAC conference. Saturday's game will take place once again at the Germantown Academy, with the game scheduled to start at 2 p.m. Remember to keep checking in at abingtonsports.com for all your Lady Lions soccer updates.