Sam Kerr Paces Sky Blue FC Offense with Brace
Sky Blue FC concluded its 2017 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) preseason schedule on Sunday, overcoming great opposition in Penn State University at Georgian Court University in Lakewood, N.J, 3-0. Leading the way for the Sky Blue FC offense was Australian striker Sam Kerr, who paced the attack with a brace. Sharing the clean slate in net for the New Jersey side were goalkeepers Caroline Casey (83 minutes) and Tori Corsaro (7 minutes).
“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. “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 opened the scoring in the 28th minute. The successful series started with defender Kayla Mills driving possession through the center of the field before dropping off a ball to the feet of Kerr. Sitting just inside the 18, Kerr quickly settled and turned into a shot that beat the Penn State netminder, making it 1-0 in favor of Sky Blue FC.
After that 1-0 tally remained into the intermission, Sky Blue FC stretched its lead to two goals in the 62nd minute. On that scoring sequence, midfielder Sarah Killion served a ball into the box that was collected by forward Maya Hayes, who was able to tap a feed to Kerr just behind her. As the ball arrived, Kerr battled her way into possession before hammering her second notch onto the scoreboard to hang a 2-0 tally in favor of her club.
The final goal of this encounter came immediately before the final whistle, as forward McKenzie Meehan played midfielder Daphne Corboz on a run inside the box. Corboz then fought her way into a solid touch on the feed that found the back of the net to put up the 3-0 final.
Sky Blue FC will play its 2017 regular season home opener when it hosts FC Kansas City on Sunday, April 30, at Yurcak Field on the campus of Rutgers University in Piscataway, N.J. Kickoff for that match is slated for 6:00 p.m., and tickets are available now online or by calling 888-SBFC-TIX (888-723-2849).
Sky Blue FC season, group and individual game tickets are on sale now! For any questions or to purchase tickets, call the Sky Blue FC tickets department at 888-SBFC-TIX (888-723-2849), and a team representative will be happy to assist you. Additionally, tickets can also be purchased online.
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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
