UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Cracking the win column for the first time in Big Ten play, Penn State put together its most complete performance of the season Thursday night in a 21-5 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes at Panzer Stadium. The 21-goal outing is the highest total this season for the Nittany Lions, and a 14-2 first-half output is a sign of good things to come on the offensive side of the ball.
Sophomore attacker Quinn Nicolai, who had the first two goals of Thursday's game, has been as vital as anyone in Penn State's offense recently. Nicolai's 21 goals and 27 points on the season both pace the Nittany Lions, and she has blossomed as a star on the front line in 2019.
"Coming in last year, I was definitely a little nervous as a freshman, not sure how confident I should be and didn't know if I could actually do it," Nicolai said. "This year, having Madison Carter behind me whispering encouragements into my ear and the rest of the team coming into their roles really made me finally realize that if everyone's here, we all belong here. We all just come on to the field and do what we have to do for the team."
As the offense continues to operate without Carter, Nicolai has made that transition significantly easier with the way she's adjusted her style of play to become more aggressive.
"Certainly as a sophomore, we've asked her to do a lot," head coach Missy Doherty said. "We really needed a couple people to step up, and she's the one that's embraced that role. We're always pushing her, we think she's very good and the more she asserts herself, the better she does. It's just a matter of continuing to push her to assert herself."
Leadership has also come more into focus for Nicolai, understanding that she impacts the team immensely in both the way she plays on the field and the way she encourages the rest of the team. She's hoping her growth can help some of the younger players become stronger in their roles as well.
"I'm just trying to come into my role as a leader and do everything I can for the girls," Nicolai said. "We have a lot of amazing girls on this team, and I think we do have some young girls we want to step up. Once you're on the field, age doesn't matter and I think people need to realize how good we are. We have to own it."
The young Nittany Lions don't have to look far for people who have "owned it", as seniors Carter and Kayla Brisolari continue to be very supportive of the underclassmen and have helped both Nicolai and the team in its growth and development over the past few months. They also give the team something to think about throughout the ups and downs of the season.
"As a freshman, I was really close with the junior class, and I look up to them like sisters on this team," Nicolai said. "Kayla, Madison and all those girls mean a lot to us and we don't want their season to end early, so I think that's my motivation and the rest of the team's motivation."
The Nittany Lions have found strength in defeat as well, understanding the schedule can be unforgiving at times and they can only focus on what's ahead of them.
"All those games were tough losses; nobody wants to go six or seven straight games without a win," Nicolai said. "There's absolutely nothing we can do about those games, so the best thing is to look forward and find what we can change."
Finishing goals and taking care of the ball were emphasized in practice this week, and that was evident against the Buckeyes. The Nittany Lions limited themselves to only 11 turnovers while connecting on 21 of their 36 shots on goal. Now, the attention turns to hosting non-conference foe Virginia at 1 p.m. Sunday as Penn State will look to put together back-to-back wins for the first time since February.
"Virginia is having another great year; they have a lot of weapons scoring," Doherty said. We just have to be ready to do the simple things well, taking care of the ball and putting our shots away. It's always great to be home, especially now that the weather's getting a little better. Panzer is an awesome environment to play in, so we're excited for another opportunity."
