Nov. 1, 2007
Char Morett's Weekly Podcast
Columbus, Ohio - Britney Long scored two goals and less than a week after holding Ohio State shotless in the regular season finale last Friday, Penn State held the Buckeyes to just three shots in the entire game as the Nittany Lions shutout the Buckeyes 3-0 in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday afternoon. The win improves Penn State to 13-6 on the year and it was the seventh shutout of the year for Penn State.
Playing the host school at the Big Ten Tournament for just the second time ever, the Nittany Lions had a few opportunities early, including two on a penalty corner sequence, but both shots were saved. On the counter-attack following those first two shots for Penn State, Ohio State got off its only shot of the first half and one more than it had in the entire game last Friday but it was saved by Jen Beaumont.
Penn State first broke through at the 24:03 mark as leading scorer Britney Long scored her first goal in nearly a month, since the Indiana game on October 7. She tipped in a forward pass from Shaun Banta to make it 1-0. The goal was her 10th of the year as she is the first Nittany Lion to reach 10 goals this year. As the Nittany Lions were on the offensive attack, Banta passed the ball forward from just inside the top of the circle and a hustling Long was able to beat Ohio State keeper Lindsay Quintiliani to the ball and redirect it over the keeper and high into the cage. For the first half, Penn State outshot the Buckeyes 5-1.
A penalty stroke opportunity that was converted gave the Nittany Lions a 2-0 lead early in the second half. Just 4:37 into the period, Britney Long got a breakaway chance and before being able to get off a shot, was tackled by an oncoming Quintiliani at the top of the circle, leading to a penalty stroke being awarded, the first penalty stroke awarded to Penn State this season. Mallory Weisen, who was a perfect 6-for-6 in her career on penalty strokes entering this year, remained perfect as she converted on the stroke to put the Nittany Lions up by two goals. The goal was her ninth of the year, extending her career high for goals in a season.
Long then came through with her second goal of the day at the 57:43 mark for another insurance goal to make it 3-0. She took the ball just inside the 25, dribbled up the left sideline and then up the endline toward the cage before squeezing in a shot between the goalkeeper and the post for the score.
Penn State outshot the Buckeyes 10-3 in the game and also had five penalty corners to just one for Ohio State. Beaumont made two saves to record the win, also her 13th of the year. With the win, the No. 9 Nittany Lions will advance to play top-seeded and No. 5 Michigan in the semifinals on Friday at noon. The game will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.
Head Coach Charlene Morett - Postgame quotes
On the game
"It's good to get a three-goal win and it was good to be able to rest a couple of the kids at the end. I just felt that they really played very strong today, strong on the ball. I felt that they kept their poise, especially in the passing game. We were under some defensive pressure early in the second but we really came out and did a nice job of getting the ball deep and regrouping."
On shutting down the Ohio State offense again for the second time in a week
"I think that our backs really stepped up and denied their players the ball. Our backs always went for the ball - every one of them. Laura Cahill, Mallory Weisen, Jen Long and Amy Bonenberger really shut their forwards down, which was nice to see."
On tomorrow's semfinal matchup with Michigan (12:00 p.m. - Big Ten Network)
"It will be good to play Michigan again because we really didn't play well against them (in the first game back on September 23). Hopefully, we'll have a better game and keep it competitive. We played a good first half against them (on September 23) but a flat second half so I'm hoping our team comes out with a little bit more energy.
On how today's win could help with a potential NCAA at-large berth
"I think it helps our position (with regards to NCAAs) because right now, from now on, we have Michigan, a ranked team, Michigan State, a ranked team, us, a ranked team, and depending on who wins the last game today, we could have four ranked teams playing in the semifinals."
Postgame Notes
- With today's win, Penn State improves to 2-3 all-time in Big Ten Tournament games played in Columbus, Ohio
- The win was Penn State's 17th all-time in the Big Ten Tournament, increasing it's Big Ten-leading total. The win also improves Penn State's all-time Big Ten Tournament winning percentage to .654.
- Penn State improves to 2-1 all-time against Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament.
- The Nittany Lions will now face Michigan in the semifinals tomorrow, and Penn State is 4-3 all-time against Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament. The seven all-time meetings with Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament are the second-most of any school for Penn State, behind only Iowa, who Penn State had met eight times in the Big Ten Tournament.
- The win was also Penn State's third in its last four Big Ten Tournament games dating back to last year.