Box Score

PHOENIXVILLE, PA - Thanks to a balanced scoring attack and some late heroics from Kathleen Meacham, the Crimson Eagles pulled out their first victory of the season, a 3-2 win Wednesday at Valley Forge Christian.

For head coach Dewey Landon, it was his first victory on the sideline for PBU.  

"We really had a lot of excellent chances in this game, but we weren't able to put the game away," said Landon.

Leading 2-0 after 71 minutes of play, it looked liked the game was well in hand for PBU; however, starting goalie Kristen Lyszczasz had to leave the game after taking a kick to the head, and Valley Forge would take advantage, building pressure against a reeling PBU defense. With Lyszczasz on the sideline, the Patriots would take advantage of their only two corner kick opportunities of the game, scoring twice in a span of seven minutes to tie the game at two with just over ten minutes to play.  

"We're going to have to evaluate our corner kick defense and make some adjustments," said Landon.

It did not take long, however, for the Crimson Eagles to recover.  In the 84th minute, Meacham scored her first goal of the season from just in front of the net, giving PBU a 3-2 lead.  From there, the defense held strong to secure the win. 

"We didn't panic and just went right back to," said Landon.  "Kathleen dribbled into the box, stayed calm, and buried it in the upper left corner, and that was it."

After back to back shut out losses to open the season, PBU dominated play from the early going, and finally found the back of the net on a breakaway goal from Katherine Zell in the 13th minute of the game.

Leading 1-0 at halftime, they would stretch their lead to 2-0 early in the 2nd half on a goal from Jessica Holt, scoring off a rebound on a shot from Zell.

Coach Landon also cited the play of center midfielders Rachel Brubaker and Mary Holzer, who were playing together for the first time.  It's a combination that Landon sees having a lot of success as the season moves on. 

The Crimson Eagles out shot the Patriots 16-8 for the game while also earning an 8-2 edge in corner kicks. 

Kristen Lyszczasz recorded the win in goal for PBU with three saves.

The Crimson Eagles will be back in action against Penn State Harrisburg in their home opener on Saturday, September 11th at noon.