Sky Blue FC Concludes Preseason with 3-0 Win Against Penn State

Sky Blue FC of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) ended its preseason schedule on a high note, defeating Penn State University 3-0 on Sunday, April 9 at Georgian Court University in Lakewood, N.J. Leading the attack for SBFC was Australian forward Sam Kerr, who finished the match with a brace, while midfielder Daphne Corboz added a goal to round out the scoring.

“First of all, we would like to thank Penn State for presenting us with such a fantastic challenge to finish off our preseason,” said Christy Holly, Sky Blue FC head coach, in a team press release. “We knew they would be exceptionally disciplined on the defensive end and create some issues for us from an offensive standpoint. I felt that our team dealt with those difficulties very well and created some excellent opportunities. We are very excited about our potential for this season.”

Sky Blue FC converted its first goal of the match in the 28th minute. Defender Kayla Mills penetrated forward with the ball towards the center of the field before dishing a pass to Kerr’s feet. Positioned just inside the box, Kerr quickly turned and shot the ball into the back of the net, giving the New Jersey side a 1-0 advantage that would carry into halftime.

SBFC would not score again until the 62nd minute, once again off the foot of Kerr. The scoring play started with midfielder Sarah Killion serving a ball into the box that was controlled by forward Maya Hayes. Hayes then passed the ball to Kerr, and Kerr battled her way into possession before cracking a second shot that would extend Sky Blue FC’s lead.

The final goal of the match came just before the final whistle from Corboz, resulting in a final score of 3-0 in Sky Blue FC’s favor. Sharing the clean slate in net for the New Jersey squad were goalkeepers Caroline Casey (83 minutes) and Tori Corsaro (7 minutes).

Sky Blue FC will play its NWSL season opener on Saturday, April 15 in Seattle. The club will travel to Memorial Stadium to take on Seattle Reign FC with kickoff at 10 p.m. ET. Fans are still waiting to find out how to watch this match, but sources say an announcement will be made before the start of opening day.

NWSL Preseason Match Report Match: Sky Blue FC vs. Penn State University

Date: April 9, 2017

Venue: Georgian Court University; Lakewood, N.J.

Weather: 62 degrees, sunny

Scoring Summary:

NJ: 1|2 - 3

PSU: 0|0 - 0

28 S.Kerr (K.Mills)

62 S.Kerr (M.Hayes)

90 D.Corboz (M.Meehan)

Lineup:

NJ: C.Casey (T.Corsaro-83), K.Mills (E.Simon-73), C.Rampone, M.Freeman (D.Richardson-73), E.Skroski, L.Galton (M.Meehan-73), S.Killion (K.Conheeney-77), N.Stanton (D.Corboz-68), S.Kerr (M.Tiernan-68), M.Hayes (K.DeCesare-73), T.Lytle (C.Atanda-77)

Head Coach: Christy Holly