UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Nittany Lion field hockey team (6-5, 4-2 B1G) dominated visiting Indiana (0-12, 0-8 B1G) on Sunday for a second straight win over the Hoosiers this weekend. The Nittany Lions, under the guidance of head coach Char Morett-Curtiss, shut-out the visitors 3-0 at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex.
In instances where teams are scheduled to play each other twice during this year's Big Ten season, only the first game between the two squads is considered for the Big Ten regular season standings. Given that, today's game only counts in the overall standings.
The Nittany Lions controlled Sunday's game from start to finish, led by a smothering defense and crisp offensively play. Sophomore Elena Vos (Grave, The Netherlands) anchored the Nittany Lion backline throughout the contest while freshman Sophia Gladieux and senior Bree Bednarski (Wyoming, Pa.) sparked the Penn State offense. Penn State outshot Indiana 6-0 in the first period alone and forced three penalty corners in the opening 15:00. Gladieux connected on the second of those three corners at the 6:55 mark, with assists from both Bednarski and Vos. The Lion defense limited Indiana's forays not the Penn State circle and the Hoosiers did not muster a shot.
The second period was more evenly played with Penn State owning a 3-2 edge in shots. Indiana was able to mount more offensive pressure in the second stanza but Penn State's defense, with Vos serving as anchor, kept IU from any shots on goal and Penn State keeper Brie Barraco (Allentown, Pa.) did not need any saves. Indiana's best chance of the game came midway through the period when Anna Gwiazdzinski took a fast shot from the left side off the Penn State circle that hit the right post, bouncing out of bounds and allowing the home team to retain its one-goal lead. The Nittany Lions added two more penalty corners but Indiana goalie Sachi Ananias beat back two hard shots from Penn State's Anna Simon (Hanau, Germany).
Penn State outshout Indiana 9-2 in the first half and had five corners to just one for Indiana. Ananias had two saves to keep the Hoosiers close early while Barraco did not face a shot on goal.
The Nittany Lions broke the game open in the third period. Penn State quickly moved the ball into the IU circle and forced an early penalty corner. Ananias denied a Bednarski shot seconds after the corner and then made a great save on a Gladieux shot two minutes later to keep the game close. Penn State, however, continued to press the action and the pressure paid off. Bednarski scored unassisted at the 5:33 mark of the third period, connecting on a shot after a nifty solo drive at the top if the IU zone. Penn State rode the two goal lead into the third period, outshooting IU 6-1 in the process.
Penn State was equally impressive in the fourth period. With the Lion defense of Vos, Eleni Prodes (Bethlehem, Pa.), Kelsey Love (State College, Pa.) and Meghan Reese (Coopersburg, Pa.) continuing to pitch a shutout, Gladieux put the game out of reach with her second goal of the game just over 5:00 into the final period. Gladieux's unassisted goal put Penn State up 3-0 and the Nittany Lions were never threatened again. Penn State outshot IU 6-1 once again, with Barraco picking up her lone save of the game off a Kennedy Reardon shot early in the period.
The Nittany Lions posted a lopsided 21-4 edge in shots and had 13 corners to just two for Indiana. Barraco notched her fourth shutout of the year with a save and Ananias had six for IU.
"I felt that our kids did a much better job of passing the ball to each other, from end-to-end and did a better job of getting everyone involved in our attack," said Morett-Curtiss. "On defense, Elena (Vos) is honestly like a wall back there. She can really anticipate what the attacker is going to do. She gets low and does a great job of taking up space with her stick."
Penn State is now 6-5 overall, 4-2 B1G. Indiana falls to 0-12, 0-8 in the conference standings. Penn State hosts Ohio State on Friday, April 16, at 3 p.m. in its next game.
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 FINAL
PENN STATE 1 0 1 1 3
INDIANA 0 0 0 0 0
STATS: PSU IND
Shots 21 4
Corners 13 2
SCORING SUMMARY (goal/assist) – TIME
1st: PSU – Sophia Gladieux (Bree Bednarski, Elena Vos)
3rd: PSU – Bednarski (unassisted)
4th: PSU – Gladieux (unassisted)
GOALKEEPERS: MIN GA S
PSU: Brie Barraco 60:00 0 1
IND: Sachi Ananias 60:00 3 6
