Sept. 6, 2008
STORRS, Conn. - For the second consecutive game, the No. 6 Penn State field hockey team lost a low-scoring affair to a Top Five team, losing 1-0 to No. 4 Connecticut Saturday at the George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex.
Connecticut scored the sole point of the game in the 21st minute of the game. All-American Jennifer Kleinhans netted her first goal of the season, blasting a shot that bounced over the leg of goalkeeper Jen Beaumont (Chalfont, Pa.). Kleinhans' goal was aided by Lindsey Leck and Meghan Wheeler.
Penn State wad shut out during consecutive games for the second straight year. Both losses came to field hockey's top teams; No. 2 Maryland defeated Penn State by the same margin on Monday.
"I think playing tougher opponents allows us to find our flaws," head coach Charlene Morett said. "I'd like for us to have better results [against Maryland and Connecticut], but it will certainly make us a better team at the end of the season."
The Nittany Lions weren't without their scoring chances. Allison Scola (Hummelstown, Pa.) fooled the goalkeeper and rocketed a shot on goal. Wheeler, a midfielder, deflected it out of the box to earn herself a defensive save.
"We were able to control the ball much better than we did against Maryland," Morett said. "We had the ball in their zone for many times, but Connecticut's defense was tough and wouldn't let us bring it into the circle for a shot."
Penn State yielded five shots, as opposed to Connecticut's 14 tries. The Huskies led the Nittany Lions in penalty corners 7-4.
Andrea Mainieo made three saves to earn her second shutout of the season. Beaumont made five stops in the loss.
Morett's squad will face its first non-ranked opponent of the season Wednesday when it hosts Temple at 4 p.m.