The fourth-ranked Case Western Reserve University women's soccer team shut out its third consecutive opponent and eighth challenger this season, blanking Penn State Behrend 2-0 on Wednesday night at DiSanto Field in Cleveland.
The Spartans remained undefeated with an 8-0-1 record, while the Lions fell to 4-2-2 this season.
Stats and Standouts
- Sophomore Abby Welker and senior Alexis Sassower scored the Spartan goals with one coming in each half
- Senior Jamie Goldfarb added her first assist of the season on the second goal
- Sophomore Ellie Palaian recorded her eighth shutout of the season, playing all 90 minutes for the Spartans in all nine games
- CWRU held a 20-5 advantage in shots and 12-3 edge in shots on goal
First Half
- Case Western Reserve had three shots and three corner kicks in the opening 10 minutes
- Palaian made a pair of saves early in the first half to keep the game scoreless
- Behrend goalkeeper Riley Morningstar made six saves in the first 45 minutes
- Welker took advantage of a Morningstar mistake in the 40th minute, capturing a mishit kick in the middle of the box
- She bested the keeper and fired a shot into the empty net for the first CWRU goal
- It was her second goal of the season and of her career
Second Half
- Both teams had good chances in the second half, with Behrend taking and the Spartans attempting seven
- The 1-0 scoreline held until the 83rd minute when Sassower struck for her third goal of the season
- She sent a ball into the box that was directed back to her on the far edge by Goldfarb
- Sassower hit a one-touch lob into the top near corner, out of reach of Morningstar for the second score of the game
- The goal was the 12th of Sassower's career
- Behrend attempted one more shot, but they were unable to get on the scoresheet as Palaian secured the shutout
Spartan Notes
- The Spartans improved to 9-3-0 all-time against Penn State Behrend in a series that dates to 2002. The win was the fifth in a row for CWRU
- Case Western Reserve has not lost a regular season non-conference game since 2018, going 56-0-5 in those 61 contests. There are two non-conference games left in the 2025 season
- Welker earned the first game-winning goal of her career
- Palaian's eight shutouts are two shy of tying the program record of 10, set in 2011 and 2021. She saved three shots and lowered her goals against average to 0.11
- Senior Ceci Dapino had a team-high four shots in the contest
- Goldfarb has scored or recorded in assist in three consecutive games
Up Next
The Spartans will next head to Alliance, Ohio, for a matchup against Mount Union on Saturday with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.