UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; Sept. 17, 2023 – The Penn State Nittany Lion field hockey team (5-3, 0-1 B1G), ranked No. 12 in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Coaches Poll, grabbed a 2-1 win over visiting Bucknell (3-5) in a non-conference Sunday matinee. The Nittany Lions overcame an early one goal deficit to garner the non-conference victory.
Penn State took advantage of an early Bucknell turnover to push the ball into the Bison circle, but BU keeper Sarah Althouse defended a Carly Gannon drive as the opening minute played out. Bucknell responded with a quick offensive drive, but the Penn State defense held as Julienne van Bekkum regained the ball for the Nittany Lions. Kelsey Love blocked a Bucknell shot at the 10:15 mark to keep the game scoreless through 5:00 of play. Penn State returned the ball to the Bison circle with Mackenzie Allessie barely missing on a pass to a diving Natlie Freeman with 8:12 on the clock. Penn State kept pressure on the BU defense until the 5:30 mark when Bucknell regained possession and briefly pushed the ball down to the Nittany Lion circle. Lily Neilsen had Bucknell's first close shot, with her effort sailing wide of Penn State goalie Brie Barraco with 2:05 on the clock and another as the first period ended, sending the game to the second stanza tied 0-0.
Penn State's Ella Jennes drove the ball into the Bison circle from the right side, forcing the game's first penalty corner just :25 into the second period. The Penn State shot off the set was wide and Bucknell moved the ball down to the Lion side of the field. The Bison quickly picked up their first corner just :30 later. Barraco made a save on the BU shot, the Nittany Lions pushed the ball downfield and Jennes quickly forced another corner at 13:01. Sophia Gladieux rocketed a shot at the Bison cage that missed just wide with 11:00 on the clock. The Bison picked up a corner at 9:48. After an initial Bison shot was blocked off the set, Lily Neilsen corralled the rebound and scored the game's first goal, unassisted, with 9:38 to play in the half. Penn State forced a flurry of penalty corners after the Bison goal, but Althouse and the Bucknell defense held through the 7:00 mark. The teams traded possessions over the final minutes of the half and the Nittany Lions trailed 1-0 at the break.
Penn State outshot Bucknell 8-7 in the first half and had a 5-2 edge in penalty corners. Althouse had four saves for Bucknell while Barraco had one for the Nittany Lions.
Neither team threatened over the first few minutes of the third period as both defenses were solid coming out of the halftime break. Penn State began to press the Bison circle as the clock hit 10:00. The Lions forced a penalty corner at the 9:33 mark with Jennes once again driving the ball right to the Bucknell cage. Bucknell blocked the ensuing Penn State shot but the Nittany Lions picked up another corner a minute later. Allessie's shot off the set was defended by Althouse, but a penalty stroke was awarded to the Lions on the play. Allessie took the penalty stroke and knocked the ball past Althouse to tie the game at 1-1. Bucknell got hit with a green card right away, giving Penn State a player advantage but BU killed the penalty and the game moved to the 5:00 mark still knotted at 1-1. Penn State took its first led of the game with Gladieux driving the ball, right to left, into the Bucknell circle and rifling off a backhand for an unassisted goal to give Penn State a 2-1 lead with 3:18 left in the third period. Penn State picked up another corner at 1:28, then another seconds later after a blocked shot. Althouse made a stick save on the second corner and Penn State settled for a 2-1 lead after three periods.
The Nittany Lions defended an early Bucknell push to start the fourth period and then moved the ball downfield. The Bison regained possession as the clock moved to 12:00 but the Nittany Lions forced a quick turnover. The teams traded possessions over the next five minutes until Bucknell threatened the Lion circle, fording a penalty corner at 6:32. Barraco made a save on the first effort and the Lion defense blocked a shot on a second quick corner. Bucknell continued to pressure the Nittany Lion defense, trying to tie the game, but the Lion defense held as the clock moved to 4:00. Anouk Knuvers and Kelsey Love pushed back on a Bison drive at 3:00 to keep the visitors from pressuring the Lion cage. Aubrey Semler began a fast break at 2:20 that worked the clock down under 2:00 before Bucknell regained possession. Bucknell had one more chance, working the ball into the Penn State zone. But a shot from outside the circle was high with :20 left, and the Lions were able to kill the clock and grab the hard-fought 2-1 win.
"It was great to get a win against a good Bucknell team that was scoring at a good pace coming into his game," said head coach Lisa Bervinchak Love. "We had good composure out of the back field, our defense played strong, and Brie Barraco was exceptional again. It's important that we take care of the ball on our counter attacks so that we can get more opportunities to score. That's something we'll work on. Our press came alive when it needed to and it's good to get a win to close out the weekend."
Penn State outshot Bucknell 15-11 over the course of the game and had a 9-4 lead in penalty corners. Althouse had seven saves for Bucknell while Barraco had three for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State is now 5-3 overall, 0-1 B1G. Bucknell falls to 3-5. Penn State will play a fifth straight home game next Sunday when it welcomes No. 6 Syracuse to the Field Hockey Complex for a 12 p.m. game on Sept. 24.
Fans are encouraged to follow the Nittany Lion field hockey team online at www.GoPSUsports.com (click teams, click field hockey), on X/Twitter @pennstateFH and on facebook at www.facebook.com/pennstatefieldhockey.
GAME BREAKDOWN
SCORING: 1 2 3 4 FINAL
PENN STATE 0 0 2 0 2
Bucknell 0 1 0 0 1
STATS: PSU BU
Shots 15 11
Corners 9 4
SCORING SUMMARY (goal/assist) – TIME
2nd: BU – Lily Neilson (unassisted); 9:38
3rd: PSU – Mackenzie Allessie (penalty stroke); 8:22
3rd: PSU – Phia Gladieux (unassisted): 3:18
GOALKEEPERS: MIN GA S
PSU: Brie Barraco 60:00 1 3
BU: Sarah Althouse 60:00 2 7