Oct. 23, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 9 Penn State field hockey team finishes its home schedule this weekend, as it faces Indiana Friday at 5 p.m. and Michigan at noon on the Field Hockey Field. Both games have championship implications since Penn State owns a half-game lead over Michigan State and Michigan while every team in the conference plays their penultimate game this weekend.
The Nittany Lions (11-4 overall, 3-0 Big Ten) are riding a seven-game winning streak after toppling Northwestern, 4-0, on Sunday in Evanston, Ill. Allison Scola scored two goals and an assist to extend her point streak to six games. Jen Beaumont and Ali Meves combined to get their seventh shut out of the season, which is good for third in the nation.
Friday's game is the field hockey team's Code Blue Day, which will feature blue T-shirts for students in attendance and one student will win a semester's worth of textbooks. A selected student will also have the chance to vie for a car if he or she makes a mid-field field hockey shot. On Sunday, Penn State's six seniors will be honored in a pre-game ceremony. Curtin Street is going to be roped off for the Thon Marathon, so Bigler Complex parking lot across from the Bryce Jordan Center will be reserved those attending the Penn State-Michigan contest.
Indiana (7-7 overall, 1-3 Big Ten) is playing its first Big Ten game in nearly two weeks. The Hoosiers followed a 2-1 upset of Michigan with a 3-2 loss to Miami, of Ohio, last Friday. Aside from the victory over the Wolverines, the Hoosiers have not fared well in conference play this season, losing by margins of five, five and eight in their three losses.
Michigan (8-7 overall, 3-1 Big Ten) has improved vastly this season after dropping three contests handily to the powerhouse teams - Maryland, Wake Forest and North Carolina - of the Atlantic Coast Conference, as well as Albany and California. The Wolverines have been streaky as of late; the maize and blue took out No. 19 Ohio State and No. 9 Michigan State but sank to Indiana and Kent State.
After the matches against the Hoosiers and Wolverines, Penn State plays its final regular season game against Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich. on Oct. 31. Pending on this weekend's results, the season finale may have regular season championship implications. The Big Ten Championships begin the following weekend on the campus of Indiana University.
The Series Versus the Hoosiers, Wolverines
Penn State leads both series against the Hoosiers and the Wolverines. Indiana has only defeated Penn State one time in its history while losing 10 contests to head coach Char Morett's squad. The Hoosiers won, 1-0, the last time they came to University Park.
Michigan, despite being a legitimate field hockey powerhouse in the 2000s, trails Penn State, 21-11, on the field hockey turf. The Wolverines swept the Nittany Lions in 2007, blanking them, 1-0, in Ann Arbor, Mich. and bouncing them, 3-2, out of the Big Ten playoffs in overtime. Penn State won the last time the two played in Happy Valley.
How the Big Ten Fares
As of Oct. 23, the No. 9 Penn State field hockey team leads the Big Ten standings with a 3-0 record coming into this weekend. Two teams remaining on the Nittany Lions schedule - Michigan and No. 8 Michigan State - stand a half game behind Penn State in the standings at 3-1. No. 10 Iowa, which lost in University Park 2-1 two weeks ago, is pivotal for Penn State on account of the Hawkeyes' unfinished games are against both the Wolverines and Spartans. Depending on what transpires this weekend, the regular season championship may come down to the Lions' final game in East Lansing, Mich. on Oct. 31.
Scouting the Nittany Lions
Penn State rolls into this weekend on a seven-game winning streak. The Nittany Lions, led in goal by Beaumont, have a half-game lead in the Big Ten standings. Beaumont ranks third in save percentage, stopping 81 percent of shots on goal faced. She is seventh in goals against average, allowing 1.08 goals per game. Along with Meves, the two lead the country in team save percentage, 81.9 percent, and are third in shutouts with seven.
The Nittany Lions are third in the nation in penalty corner opportunities per game, earning 10.13 per game. They had 22 corner chances in their past win over Northwestern.
Scola is the leader of the team in points (21) and assists (11). Scola is tenth in assists per game (.79) and Jen Long is 18th in the same category (.67). Scola is riding a six-game point streak and added her first multi-goal game in two years.
Daneen Zug has the most goals on the team with eight. She is second in points (18). Jessica Longstreth is scoring on 31.6 percent of her shots, while Christine Dudek is finding the back of the net on 31.2 percent.
Scouting the Hoosiers
Indiana has three players with more than 10 points. Meg O'Connell has the most goals (seven) and points (16) on the Hoosiers. The highest assist-getters on the Hoosiers each have three. Indiana does not rank in the Top 25 of any statistical category in Division I field hockey. Goalkeeper Alex Mann is 40th in the nation with 4.77 saves per game.
Scouting the Wolverines
Michigan has two starters with more than 25 points. Meredith Way, the team's leading goal scorer with 12, has 29, while Sarah Wilhite, the team's leading assister with 16, has 28.
The Wolverines split goalkeeping duties this season. Christi Barwick has less minutes than Paige Pickett but has a better record, goals against average and save percentage.
Michigan ranks 18th in goals per game with 5.56 nets. It hovers around the Top 15 in assists (2.5 per game) and points per game (8.25).
Individually, Way and Wilhite are 28th and 38th, respectively, in points. Way is 25th in goals per game, while Wilhite has the sixth most assists in the nation.
Beaumont and Scola Selected to All-Stars
Jen Beaumont and Allison Scola, of the No. 9 Penn State field hockey team, were selected as members of the 2008 National Field Hockey Coaches Association's Division I Senior All-Star Team, the organization announced Wednesday.
The Nittany Lion duo was two of 38 players selected to the roster. The 2008 NFHCA Division Senior All-Star Game will be played on Saturday, Nov. 22 at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Ky. at 7:30 p.m. The game takes place between the semi-finals, held Nov. 21, and the national championship game, which is set for Nov. 23. Any individual whose team makes the Final Four will not be allowed to participate in the game.
"We are so proud to have two of our seniors selected for the NFHCA Senior All-Star Game," head coach Charlene Morett said. "Both Jen and Allie are truly deserving of this honor and will be playing amongst the best college players in the country."
Beaumont has been stellar in goal for Penn State this season. She is currently third in the nation, individually, in save percentage, preventing 81 percent of shots on goal faced from going in. Similarly, the senior goalkeeper is ranked seventh in goals against average, allowing an average of 1.08 goals per game. Beaumont has accumulated 11 wins this season in the cage for the Nittany Lions, who currently lead the Big Ten regular season standings. The team's seven shutouts are third best in the nation.
Scola is the leading point scorer of the Nittany Lion offense with 21. Since moving to the pusher position on penalty corners, the senior midfielder has been able to rack 11 assists in 2008 season. Her average of .79 assists per game is the tenth best in Division I field hockey. She is currently on a six-game point streak and has five goals this season. Scola earned a National Player of the Week nod after scoring a point on each goal scored during a weekend sweep of two Top Ten teams.
The Big Ten will represent itself with eight players in the all-star game. Michigan was the only other team in the conference to have two players playing.
Second-half dominance
Penn State's defense has only allowed .33 goals per second half this season. It has shut out opponents in the latter frame in 11 of its 15 games.