Penn State Field Hockey Topples #9 St. Joseph’s 2-1 in Overtime
Nittany Lions complete weekend with second overtime victory
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; Sept. 7, 2025 – The Penn State Nittany Lion field hockey team (2-1, 0-0 B1G) toppled No. 9 St. Joseph’s (2-1) in its second home game of the weekend. Penn State nabbed a 2-1 (OT) victory over the Hawks, winning its second overtime game of the weekend to improve to 2-1 on the year.
St. Joseph’s pushed the ball into the Lion circle at the 14:05 mark to start the game and kept pressure on the Nittany Lion defense until Anouk Knuvers forced a turnover. St. Joseph’s regained the ball and forced the game’s first penalty corner at 11:31 and another at 11:25. The Penn State defense blocked both shots and the Lions regained the ball at the 11:00 mark. Sophia Mannino moved the ball into the SJU circle for a moment, but the Hawk defense held until Ella Jennes forced a corner for Penn State at 9:13. St. Joseph’s keeper Paige Kieft made a stick save on Morgan Snyder’s shot to keep the game scoreless with 8:58 on the clock. Penn State was awarded another corner after the play and Knuvers scored unassisted off the play to give the Nittany Lions a 1-0 lead at 8:51. Penn State gave up a green card at 5:32 and the Lions killed the player advantage to hold their lead. St. Joseph’s forced a corner at 2:06 and Mannino broke up the play. St. Joseph’s got on the board at the :39 mark when Ava Smith took an Alison Buffington pass and found the back of the cage to tie the game at 1-1. Penn State immediately picked up a corner with :27 on the clock. Joji Purdy and Knuvers both had shots knocked away by Kieft and the game moved to the second stanza tied 1-1.
The second period began with a push by the visitors, but Penn State held off the effort and took control of the ball. Cooper Cutchins and Mannino worked the ball down the sideline, but SJU forced a turnover at 12:40. The teams battled evenly through the 10:00 mark, working in the midfield. Penn State pressured the SJU circle with 8:00 left in the half and kept the ball on the SJU side through the 5:00 mark. The Hawks regained possession and moved the ball down to the Lion side at the 4:00 mark. Penn State keeper Aby Deverka kicked aside an SJU shot at 1:40 and Penn State took control of the ball briefly, but SJU kept the ball on the Lion side of the field for the remainder of the half. Penn State’s defense held, however, and the game moved to halftime tied 1-1.
The Hawks began the third period pressuring the Lion circle. Penn State’s defense held off the Hawks through the 11:00 mark but SJU continued to control the ball on the Lion side of the field. The Hawks forced a corner with 9:57 on the clock. Deverka made the save on the ensuing shot, but SJU kept the ball. Penn State moved the ball to the SJU side with 8:30 on the clock. Cutchins worked a pass through the Hawk circle, but SJU defended the drive and the game remained tied with 7:40 left in the third period. The Hawks picked up another corner at 7:16 and the Nittany Lions defended the play. Purdy stole a pass and rocketed a shot at Kieft with 4:25 on the clock and the Hawk goalie made a slapping save to keep the game tied. The Loins got called for a green card at 3:46 but easily killed the player edge, sending the game to the final period knotted at 1-1.
Penn State began the fourth period with a yellow card at 14:42, giving SJU the player advantage for 5:00. The Penn State defense worked over 3:00 off the edge before SJU got hit with a green card at 11:19. With the teams at even strength, St. Joseph’s pressured the Lion circle, but the PSU defense held. Both teams hit full strength at the 9:19 mark with the game still tied at 1-1. The Hawks maintained control of the ball through the 7:00 mark but Knuvers and the Lion defense were equal to the task. St. Joseph’s got hit with a yellow card at the 4:38 mark, giving the Nittany Lions a player advantage for the remainder of regulation. The teams battled in the midfield through the 2:30 mark. St. Joseph’s moved into the Lion zone at 1:20 and forced a penalty corner with :57 on the clock. Penn State defended the shot and then another late shot sailed wide, sending the game to overtime.
St. Joseph’s worked the ball into the Lion zone to start overtime and Penn State held, forcing a turnover at 8:20. Penn State then pushed into the Hawk circle with 7:25 on the clock but a turnover gave the ball back to SJU. Brooke Weaver’s steal with 4:30 on the clock stopped a Hawk fast break and allowed Penn State to push the ball into the SJU zone. The Nittany Lions then finished off the drive with Katelyn Strawser rocketing the ball towards the Hawk cage and freshman Olivia Marthins tipping in the game-winner at the 3:34 mark in overtime, giving Penn State the 2-1 (OT) win.
“I felt like we had opportunities to win that game in regulation but did not complete some offensive chances,” said head coach Lisa Bervinchak Love. “What I loved was how we hung in there, did not panic and then in overtime we finished off a very nice drive to win in. Defensively we were better than Friday as well. This is a very good win against a very good team and we’re happy to come out of this weekend with a couple victories.”
Penn State outshot St. Joseph’s 9-8. The Hawks had a 6-3 edge in corners. Deverka had two saves for Penn State and Kieft had four for the Hawks.
Penn State is now 2-1, 0-0 B1G. St. Joseph’s falls to 2-1 as well. Penn State will continue a string of four straight home games next weekend, hosting Bucknell on Friday night at 6 p.m. and Kent State on Sunday at 12 p.m.
Fans are encouraged to follow the Nittany Lion field hockey team online at www.GoPSUsports.com (click teams, click field hockey), on X and IG @pennstateFH and on facebook at www.facebook.com/pennstatefieldhockey.
GAME BREAKDOWN
SCORING: 1 2 3 4 OT1 FINAL
PENN STATE 1 0 0 0 1 2
St. Joseph’s 1 0 0 0 0 1
STATS: PSU SJU
Shots 9 8
Corners 3 6
SCORING SUMMARY (goal/assist) – TIME
1st: PSU – Anouk Knuvers (unassisted); 8:51
1st: SJU – Ava Smith (Alison Buffington); 0:39
OT: PSU – Olivia Marthins (Katelyn Strawser); 3:34
GOALKEEPERS: MIN GA S
PSU: Aby Deverka 66:24 1 2
SJU: Paige Kieft 66:24 2 4