Big First Half Leads Lions Past Immaculata

MEDIA, Pa. -- Penn State Brandywine scored all the goals it would need during the opening 45 minutes as the Lions found the back of the net three times and blanked Immaculata 3-0 in women's soccer action on Thursday evening.

Brianna Banks (Philadelphia, Pa./Parkway Center), Ami Iannello (Media, Pa./Strath Haven) and Rachel Weir (Neptune City, N.J./Red Bank Regional) registered Brandywine's three goals, with the first coming just 2:26 into the game and the final with only 11 ticks remaining before halftime.

The goals for Banks and Weir, two of Brandywine's nine freshmen, were the first of their collegiate careers.

Another freshman, goalkeeper Emily Bush (Bayville, N.J./Central Regional), shined in her first start, stopping all 15 shots she faced to help the Lions blank the Mighty Macs. Nine of those stops came during the first half when Immaculata controlled possession for a majority of the time.

Banks put Brandywine on the board by putting the Lions' first shot of the game over Immaculata net minder Allie Tracey after she had sped past the defense.

Iannello made it 2-0 at the 38:28 mark after depositing a crossing feed from Weir into an empty net. A nice feed from Banks to Weir at the goal line made the score 3-0 just before the halftime whistle.

Brandywine faces its second consecutive Colonial States Athletic Conference opponent on Wednesday when the Lions travel to Keystone for a 4:00 pm match.