No. 3 Virginia falls to No. 14 Penn State, 4-2

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Diana Ordoñez notched her third multiple-goal game of the season with a brace on Thursday, but it wasn’t enough to propel the Cavaliers to victory as No. 3 Virginia fell to No. 14 Penn State 4-2 at Klöckner Stadium.

It was the first loss for the Cavaliers (6-1-0), who trailed for the first time this season and battled back twice, but couldn’t overtake the visiting Penn State side.

With the score tied 1-1 following an Ordoñez equalizer in the 27th minute, Penn State struck twice in a two-minute span late in the first half to take a 3-1 lead on the Cavaliers. Payton Linnehan notched an unassisted goal in the 39th minute as she intercepted a back pass at the top of the Virginia box before

Ally Schlegel would score off a corner in the 40th minute to give Penn State (5-1-0) the 3-1 lead.

Virginia would cut the lead to one with a second goal from Ordoñez in the 58th minute, but an own goal by the Cavaliers in the 62nd minute pushed Penn State back in front 4-2.

“It’s a tough loss,” UVA coach Steve Swanson said. “There’s a lot we can learn from this. Penn State played really well. They created some chances off their transition and worked very hard. Full marks to them. Sometimes if you go a step backwards, you can gain steps forward. If we can learn from this game and put it to good use down the road, hopefully that will be how we can get something positive out of this.”