| Shaun Banta ranks No. 2 in the nation in goals this year with eight. The team's scoring offense (4.03 goals per game) ranks No. 4. |
Penn State game notes
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. September 22, 2005 - The No. 8 Penn State field hockey team will put its nine-game winning streak to the test when it opens Big Ten action vs. Northwestern on Saturday at noon. Penn State is 19-3 all-time vs. the Wildcats, and won last year's high-scoring contest, 6-3, in Evanston. The Lions are a perfect 5-0 at Astroturf Field this year, and haven't lost to Northwestern at home since 1994.
The Nittany Lions (9-1) are riding an offensive surge into Saturday's matchup. The team has tallied 27 goals in its last five games, the fourth-highest five-game scoring total in program history. Shaun Banta (Gibbsboro, N.J.) leads the team's potent attack with eight goals, which also ranks No. 2 in the nation. Annelise Legel (Morgantown, Pa.), who has seven goals and three assists, tops the team in points, (17) and shots (28). The team has already tallied 37 goals this season, three away from its 2004 total. Ten different players have scored, and the Lions are averaging 3.60 goals per game, tops in the Big Ten.
The high-scoring attack has meant plenty of wins for Penn State, which hasn't dropped a game since the season-opener at Old Dominion. The string of nine straight wins is tied for the fourth-longest single-season win streak in the program's history.
Penn State's offense isn't the only side of the ball playing well. The defense has shut out five opponents this year, including the last three straight. Senior goalkeeper Megan Akstin (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) has five shutouts this season, and ranks fourth in the nation in save percentage (.860) and goals against average (.784).
Head coach Char Morett continues to amass wins after recording her 300th Penn State victory at Temple on Sept. 14. The Hall of Fame coach is now 302-105-8 at the University, and 339-121-16 in her career, which includes three years at Boston College.
The Lions will stay at home to face Syracuse, on Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 4 p.m. Penn State will head to the road for matchups at Michigan (Oct. 2) and Iowa (Oct. 8) before returning for a final three-game homestand vs. Michigan State (Oct. 15), Bucknell (Oct. 18) and Ohio State (Oct. 22). Admission to all Penn State field hockey home games is free.