The shorthanded Red Raiders saw a 25-match regular season unbeaten streak snapped in Thursday’s 4-0 road loss
By Andrew Stern
Published: Aug. 15, 2024 at 9:21 PM CDT
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (NEWS RELEASE) – Down two of its three Preseason All-Americans and three of four All-Big 12 Preseason selections, No. 8 Texas Tech Soccer saw its 25-match regular season unbeaten streak snapped Thursday night, as the Red Raiders fell to No. 4 Penn State, 4-0 at Jeffery Field.
Missing its two outside backs in juniors Macy Blackburn and Kylie Bahr as well as 2023 Big 12 Freshman of the Year Sam Courtwright, Texas Tech (0-1-0) could not overcome an early 4-0 deficit in the season opener.
In her first career start in net for the Red Raiders, Faith Nguyen made four saves, three of which came in the match’s second half.
After getting outshot by Penn State (1-0-0), 11-1 in the first half, the Red Raiders got their footing after halftime, winning the second half shot total, 7-5.
That total included a rocketed shot from freshman Millie Elwood in the 72nd that glanced off a PSU defender’s hand in the box and earned the Red Raiders a penalty kick.
On the ensuing PK, Tech junior Peyton Parsons stepped to the spot, but her attempt was saved by PSUs MacKenzie Gress. The PK attempt was one of four shots that Parsons would take on the night.
Penn State got on the board early on Thursday night, using a strong left-footed strike from Jordan Fusco in the seventh minute to take a 1-0 lead.
PSU doubled its lead nearly 10 minutes later, when Fusco’s corner kick found Kaitlyn MacBean who headed one past Nguyen along the near post.
After a VAR review determined a foul in the box, PSUs Rowan Lapi scored the three goal of the night on a penalty kick, before an Aubrey Kulpa goal with 75 seconds left in the half, gave PSU its final lead of the night, 4-0.
As previously mentioned, the Red Raiders saw their 25-match unbeaten streak snapped on Thursday, a streak that dated back to Sept. 25, 2022 and was tied for the longest streak in school history.
HC TOM STONE:
“You have to give Penn State credit. This is a team that is a well-oiled machine. They have come through the preseason and they’re at place where if you get down on them and get yourself in a hole, it’s going to be very hard to climb out. We passed them the ball in our own 18-yard box for the first goal and then scored the second goal for them. Then the third goal came off a penalty where VAR reared its ugly head. We’re down 3-0 and they’re really tough to get the ball from. They had the momentum and had the crowd at home, so it was a downhill slide that was very avoidable on our part. But unfortunately, the first 20 minutes belonged to Penn State. Once we settled in, we created a few chances of our own but missed a penalty. In the second half we played much better, but the damage was done. For our young team, with all the players were missing, it was a tough ask, even though they played their hearts out. I was super proud of the attitude and effort in the second half. We played almost every player, and they went as hard as they could the entire game. So, there’s a lot to take from it. Obviously we’re disappointed having not lost a regular season match in nearly two years, so this one hurts a bit. But it’s game one against a really good team that played really well in their opener. There’s a lot we can take from it.”
On turning the page to Sunday’s match vs. CSUN:
“We’ll have to have a short memory with a quick turnaround coming. The players that played really well tonight are frustrated by the result, and they’ll lead the way for Sunday. But you cannot feel sorry for yourself at this point. It’s too early in the season and we have too many more games against good teams left on the schedule. We have no choice. We’ll get back tomorrow and get ready for CSUN on Sunday. That’s the way college soccer is, it’s fast and furious. We will bounce back. This team isn’t happy right now and I love that about them. They’re stubborn and resolute, and they will be ready for Sunday.”
UP NEXT:
The Red Raiders return to Lubbock for the start of a two-match homestand. Sunday’s home opener against CUSN is set for a 7 p.m. first touch.
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