Penn State draws with Georgetown in tight battle

Washington D.C.- No. 8 Penn State draws No. 23 Georgetown in a scoreless Sunday matchup.

The No. 8 Penn State Nittany Lions traveled to the nation's capital to face off against the No. 23 Georgetown Hoyas.

The game ended in a draw and neither team scored, but there were plenty of opportunities for both sides to get some goals on the board.

The first ten minutes saw both the Nittany Lions and the Hoyas getting shots off, but none on target. In the ninth minute, Georgetown forward Maja Lardner had a counter-attacking opportunity and a one-on-one look versus Mieke Schiemann, but Schiemann marked Lardner well and was able to clear the dangerous look for a corner kick.

Penn State had two great opportunities to score with one coming in each half. The first came after Kaitlyn MacBean drew a foul in the 28th minute that was initially not called by the referees, but a replay review from the referees confirmed a penalty kick for the Nittany Lions.

Olivia Damico took the spot kick, but Georgetown keeper Cara Martin guessed correctly and made a great save in the bottom right corner.

In the following minutes, the Nittany Lions had two more shots, but neither were on target. Molly Martin’s shot was blocked by a plethora of Hoya defenders and Amelia White quickly followed up with a shot wide right.

The next 10 minutes saw possession bounce back and forth until the final 5 minutes of the half, Rebecca Cooke came in as a substitute and had what looked like a great chance for a one-on-one opportunity, but was called offside.

Then one minute later, she had another chance, but a combination save from Martin and the post denied her chance to put the Nittany Lions on the board.

In the second half, both teams struggled to find good looks on target. Georgetown took control of the momentum in the first ten minutes, recording two shots on target, including a header off the crossbar on a corner kick.

Forward Natalie Means followed with a shot from just outside the box to the bottom left corner, but Amanda Poorbaugh was in perfect position to see the shot and make the save.

The Nittany Lions quickly moved the ball down the field following the Poorbaugh save, but MacBean was caught offside on a through ball which would have given her a clear opportunity on net from the left wing.

They sustained pressure and won the ball back in the offensive zone, and then MacBean won a free kick on the left wing near the edge of the box.

On the set piece situation, Jordan Fusco sent in a lofted ball into the box that MacBean got a header on but was just wide right.

There was a flurry of chances from both sides from the 64th to 75th minute, starting with a Georgetown free kick into traffic, but Poorbaugh took it for herself, stifling the Hoyas.

After the Nittany Lions got possession back, they moved the ball into the danger area quickly and MacBean tried to direct a high-flying, loose ball on the net but sent the shot high and wide.

After a few more attempts from the Nittany Lions, they made a switch on the offensive side of the ball, bringing in Rebecca Cooke, Julia Raich and Natalie Wilson in for MacBean, Fusco and Olivia Borgen.

In the 75th minute, Penn State had its best look to score a goal in the second half, White almost forced the Hoyas to concede an own-goal from a cross, but the deflection sent the ball just past the left post.

In the moments following the near-own-goal, both sides were shown yellow cards as things got chippy in the final 15, but neither side saw any meaningful opportunities as possession bounced back and forth until the clock ran out.

Penn State will open up Big Ten play on Thursday at Jeffrey Field versus Michigan set for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

Carson Schuler is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email cts5357@psu.edu.