Penn State captures first women's national title

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, Dec 6, 2015

Costa Rican World Cup player Raquel Rodriguez scored the lone goal in the 72nd minute to give Penn State a 1-0 win over Duke for its first NCAA Division I women's championship on Sunday.

Mallory Weber, who led Penn State with 11 assists, set up Rodriguez for her sixth goal of the season. The seniors were the only players who started for the Nittany Lion when they lost to North Carolina, 4-1, in the 2012 final. It was the second trip to the final for both teams.  Duke had fallen a year earlier to Stanford, 1-0, in 2011.

Rodriguez had played for Costa Rica at the 2015 Women's World Cup but skipped the Ticos' series against the USA in August so she could concentrate on her senior senior at Penn State.

Duke's best chance came in the first half when sub Imani Dorsey hit a shot that bounced off the crossbar. Toni Payne had almost single-handedly beaten defending champion Florida State in the semifinals with her devastating pace, but she was held in check by the Nittany Lions defense.

Penn State matched Florida's feat of winning all six NCAA Tournament games by shutouts. The Lions finished with a 20-0 scoring margin in the six games and eight straight shutout wins in all competitions.

The Lions should be a contender in 2015 as they only lose keeper Britt Eckerstrom, Rodriguez and Weber. The nucleus of the team is the sophomore class with six starters.

Dec. 6 in Cary, North Carolina
Penn State 1 Duke 0. Goals: Rodriguez (Weber) 72.
Penn State -- Eckerstrom, Basinger, Riehl, Elliston, Ball, Ogle, Rodriguez, Driesse, Schafer, Crouse, Weber. Subs: Williams, Jean, Echard, Ortega-Jurado.
Duke -- Proctor, Quinn, Raben, Reid, Gibbons, Miller, Racioppi, Wilson, Martinez, Payne, McCoy. Subs: Burns, Dorsey, Pecht, Allen.