ALTOONA, PA:  Sophomore Heather Darnell etched her name into the Penn State Altoona record books Tuesday afternoon at Spring Run Stadium.  The forward from Canton, Georgia scored five of the six Lion goals en route to a 6-3 win over visiting Shenandoah University.

Darnell got loose early, scoring off a Kristen Ellershaw pass at the 5 minute mark before taking one the length of the field for another goal just three minutes later.  At the 24 minute mark, she took an Allie Schumacher pass and booted it home giving the Lions a 3-1 lead.  After a Lady Hornets goal by Tiffany Johnson, Darnell blasted a one-timer past Shenandoah goalkeeper Megan Clark, and just six minutes later, Lion senior Brittany Bovard drilled a 30-footer from just outside the box to extend the halftime lead to
5-2.

The second 45 minutes featured the Lady Hornets netting an early goal as Ashley Greis kicked in a Megan Ross pass to cut the Altoona lead to 5-3.  But Darnell and fellow captain Danielle Collins put the game out of reach as Collins booted a direct kick that Darnell cleaned up, setting the final score at 6-3. 

Darnell's performance statistically is the best in Penn State Altoona soccer history (men or women) with her five goals and 10 total points.  She now has nine goals in only five games and will try to continue her torrid pace as AMCC play begins Saturday.

Penn State Altoona out-shot Shenandoah 26-14 on the day and improved to 3-2 on the young season.  The squad is back in action this Saturday at Hilbert College.  Game time in Buffalo is 1 PM.