STRONG SECOND HALF LEADS ABINGTON PAST EXPRESS

ABINGTON,  Pa. – The Penn. St. Abington Nittany Lions (1-0, 1-0 NEAC) scored five second half goals, including four in a span of less than six minutes, en route to a 5-0 victory over the Wells College Express (2-3, 0-1 NEAC) in North Eastern Athletic Conference women's soccer action Saturday afternoon in Abington, Pa. Brittany Middleton (Chalftont, Pa./Central Bucks South) paced the Nittany Lions with two goals and one assists, while Gabrielle Benedict (Jameson, Pa./Central Bucks West) earned the victory in net with four saves. Rachel Mattraw (Chaumont, N.Y./Lyme Central) finished with seven saves in the loss for the Express.

The two teams played to a scoreless first half with Abington holding the advantage in shots on goal (5-1) and corner kicks (4-1). The first ten minutes of the second half would be disastrous for the Express. Brittany Palmer (Philelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) started the scoring at 47:33 on a pass from Middelton to give Abington the 1-0 lead. The Nittany Lions went on a tear from there posting three goals, including a penalty kick goal by Middleton, in a span of 58 seconds to give Abington the 4-0 lead with a little than 37-minutes to play. Adrianna Rodriguez (Oceanside, Calif./El Camino) added the fifth and final goal at 89:24 of the match as the Nittany Lions cruised to victory.

Abington held the advantage in shots on goal (12-4) and corner kicks (7-2).

The Express return to action tomorrow against NEAC foe Penn. St. Berks at 3 p.m. in Reading, Pa.