UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Nittany Lion field hockey team (1-1, 1-1 B1G) took down Northwestern (2-1, 2-1 B1G) this afternoon in a Big Ten contest. Head coach Char Morett-Curtiss' squad battled over 80:00 and through a shootout to beat the Wildcats 2-1 in a game played in Virginia Beach, Va.
Northwestern had an early penalty corner that Penn State defended. The Lions got off two close shots on goal that ended in a high save and a wide shot, both coming before the 11:30 mark of the first period. Freshman Sophia Gladieux (Boyertown, Pa.) forced a penalty corner at the 8:01 mark. Elena Vos (Grave, The Netherlands) had her first shot off the corner blocked but the Lions followed up with a second. Madison Hutson (Gloucester Point, Va.) appeared to score off a rebound on the second corner but the goal was waved off by the officials. Northwestern had a player advantage after a Penn State green card but Penn State still controlled the action, with Jemma Punch (McDowall, Australia) getting off a solid shot at the 4:00 mark. Northwestern keeper Annabel Skubisz was able to knock the shot aside. Northwestern picked up a green card, evening the sides, and the first period ended in a scoreless tie.
Penn State looked to control the tempo to start the second period. The Nittany Lions kept the ball down on the Northwestern side of the field for the opening few minutes but could not find the cage as Penn State continued to pressure the Wildcat defense. Northwestern countered Penn State and worked the ball down to the Penn State circle. Sabrina Solomen connected at the 10:47 mark to give Northwestern a 1-0 lead early in the second period despite Penn State's consistent pressure. Grace Wallis (Blue Bell, Pa.) moved the ball down the sideline at the 7:00 mark and Penn State picked up a penalty corner with 6:48 left in the quarter. Emma Spisak's (Boiling Springs, Pa.) shot was blocked away. Northwestern was able to move the action down to Penn State's side of the field with under 3:00 left in the period and forced a penalty corner with 2:34 on the clock. Penn State's defense held firm on the corner but Northwestern maintained possession. Lion keeper Brie Barraco (Allentown, Pa.) was able to keep Penn State within one with a diving save during the flurry. Penn State trailed 1-0 at halftime.
Penn State outshot Northwestern 12-3 in the first half but found itself down by a point. Wildcat keeper Skubisz had five saves to keep the Lions off the board early.
Northwestern withstood some early Penn State pressure in to start the third period and gained possession three minutes in. The Wildcats picked up a series of penalty corners that the Lion defense was able to withstand, keeping the score close at 1-0. The Nittany Lions pushed the ball down to Northwestern's circle at the 7:30 mark and made the offensive push pay off. Senior Bree Bednarski (Wyoming, Pa.) scored Penn State's first goal of the young season, tying the game at 1-1 with 7:23 on the clock with an assist from Abby Myers (Hartland, Wis.). Northwestern countered by forcing a penalty corner at the 5:28 mark. Vos made a good defensive save on the corner to keep the game tied with under 5:00 to play in the third stanza. Penn State defended two more Northwestern corners later in the period and entered the fourth tied 1-1.
Penn State picked up an early penalty corner to start the fourth period but the Lions shot went high. The Lions had a number of opportunities near the Wildcat circle but the NU defense was able to hamper Penn State just enough to force a turnover as the clock hit 10:00. The Wildcats could not put together a sustained offensive push for the first half of the final period. With 8:30 on the clock, Northwestern moved the ball into the Penn State circle briefly but the Lion defense, anchored by freshman Kelsey Love (State College, Pa.), was equal to the task and the game remained tied 1-1. With just under 7:00, Northwestern found itself in the Lion circle again and Love once more forced an NU turnover and Penn State pushed the ball down the sideline and out of its own territory. Barraco knocked away a high Northwestern shot with 5:20 left to keep the game tied as the Wildcats began to sustain some momentum. Penn State's defense was pressed over four minutes and held its own. The Lions moved into Northwestern territory for a corner at the 3:08 mark but the Lion shot went wide. The Lions kept the ball on NU's side for the final minutes, forcing the Wildcat keeper into a couple saves to send the game into overtime.
Penn State took the opening possession in sudden victory and pressured the Wildcat defense right away. But Northwestern pushed the Lions back, regained possession themselves and looked to move the ball into the Lion circle With the teams trading barbs in the midfield, Northwestern took a hard shot that Barraco knocked aside with 7:22 on the clock. Barraco had another save shortly after that and a subsequent NU shot went just wide with 6:40 left. Meghan Reese (Coopersburg, Pa.) helped Penn State regain possession as the clock hit 5:00. Northwestern took a player advantage on a Nittany Lion green card with just under 5:00 and forced a penalty corner with 4:08 left in overtime. Barraco defended the initial shot and the rebound effort from Northwestern. Penn State killed off the penalty and took possession of the ball as the clock moved to the 2:00 mark. Penn State picked up a penalty corner with 1:11 left. Anna Simon's (Hanau, Germany) shot off the corner was blocked and the game moved to a second overtime.
Northwestern had possession to start the second extra period and moved the ball down into the Lion circle. Penn State defended the effort and regained possession, pushing the ball downfield as the clock moved to the 7:51 mark. Myers moved deep into the NU circle only to have the ball roll over the end line. Northwestern countered and Barraco knocked back a point-blank Northwestern shot, keeping the game tied 1-1 at the 6:12 mark. Another Northwestern effort ended in a shot just wide off the Lion cage with 4:27 left as well. Hutson broke up a Northwestern fast break with 3:00 on the clock and Penn State countered. Emma Spisak (Boiling Springs, Pa.) took the ball the length off the field but the Wildcats pushed back on her drive and the clock moved under the 2:00 mark. The final minutes were scoreless as well and the game moved to a shootout.
Sophia Gladieux (Boyertown, Pa.), Simon and Reese each connected on their shootout efforts while Barraco had saves on three of Northwestern's five efforts to help Penn State win the shootout by one and secure the 2-1 victory.
Penn State had 18 shots in the game while Northwestern had 24. The Lions had six penalty corners to nine for NU. Barraco gave Penn State a chance to win in the shootout, totaling 12 saves in the game, including 10 in the second half and overtime periods.
"We played so well in the first half and Northwestern took control in the third period," said Morett-Curtiss. "From that point on it was a pretty even game and both teams had opportunities. I am so proud of our leadership on the field with Abby (Myers), Emma (Spisak) and Madison (Hutson) really bringing unity to our structure out there. Brie (Barraco) was simply outstanding and kept us in the game. We elevated our level of play and improved from last week and that's a very positive step for us."
The Nittany Lions are now 1-1, 1-1 B1G. Northwestern falls to 2-1, 2-1 B1G. Penn State closes out its Virginia Beach contests when it battles Iowa once more on Sunday, Feb. 7, at 12:45 p.m.
Fans are encouraged to follow the Nittany Lion field hockey team online at www.GoPSUsports.com (click teams, click field hockey), on twitter @pennstateFH and on facebook at www.facebook.com/pennstatefieldhockey.
GAME BREAKDOWN
SCORING: 1 2 3 4 OT1 OT2 SO FINAL
PENN STATE 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 (3) 2
Northwestern 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 (2) 1
STATS: PSU NU
Shots 18 24
Corners 6 9
SCORING SUMMARY (goal/assist) – TIME
2nd: NU – Sabrina Solomen (Bente Maekers), 10:47
3rd: PSU – Bree Bednarski (Abby Myers), 7:29
SO: PSU – TEAM (stroke-off, 3-2), 80:00
GOALKEEPERS: MIN GA S
PSU: Brie Barraco 80:00 1 12
NU: Annabel Skubisz 80:00 1 7
