Nov. 7, 2008
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - No. 17 Ohio State scored a sudden-death goal 1:47 into overtime as the Buckeyes eliminated the first-seeded Penn State field hockey team from the Big Ten Conference Championships in Bloomington, Ind on Saturday.
Daneen Zug (Manheim, Pa.) scored the Nittany Lions' lone goal, and Allison Scola (Hummelstown, Pa.) and Jen Long (Doylestown, Pa.) each added an assist for head coach Char Morett's squad.
After applying pressure early in the extra period, Ohio State's Aisling McKeon scored the game-winning tally off a rebound. Linda Haussener, the Big Ten Conference's Co-Offensive Player of the Year, fired a penalty-corner shot that got away from Penn State defenders after a Jen Beaumont (Chalfont, Pa.) save. McKeon gathered the ball and sent the fifth-seeded Buckeyes into the conference's championship game Sunday, when it will face No. 8 Iowa, who won in similar fashion this afternoon over No. 10 Michigan State.
Penn State trailed the Buckeyes, 10-7, in shots and penalty corners, 6-5.
Ohio State fluttered early using its game plan to its advantage as both teams mustered very few shots. At the 32:15 mark, the Buckeyes benefited from a penalty-shot call from the referees inside the circle. Haussener placed the ball into the top-right corner to provide Ohio State a one-goal lead going into the half.
The Nittany Lions came out of the break on all cylinders, not allowing the Buckeyes to get the ball into their circle for the first 24 minutes of the half. Zug's goal, her tenth of the season, came off a penalty-corner opportunity generated by Scola's swift ball-handling skills at the 45-minute mark. Scola pushed it to Long, who set up a Zug shot that blazed past the Buckeye defense.
Penn State narrowly missed several second-half chances that would've deemed well for the regular season champions. Zug rattled the post on a redirected shot across the goal six minutes into the game. Christine Dudek (Harleysville, Pa.) barely missed the post on a long shot, and a well-struck back-handed Jessica Longstreth (Richboro, Pa.) shot that would've sent the Lions ahead went just wide of the net.
Beaumont made six saves in the contest. She held off a barrage of Buckeye shots in the concluding minutes of the second half, making three kick saves in a two-minute span.
Iowa and Ohio State will battle for the conference championship Sunday at noon. The Nittany Lions' chances at making the NCAA Tournament are likely dependent on victories by Iowa and conference favorites in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big East and the Colonial Athletic Association. Going into this weekend, Penn State was No. 9 in the RPI index, ahead of No. 10 Iowa and No. 11 Michigan State. Louisville and Virginia are 12th and 13th in rankings, and both remain alive in their respective conference tournaments.
The Division I Field Hockey Selection Show is scheduled for Tuesday at 8 p.m. Video will be held live via NCAA.com. Microsoft Silverlight is the preferred platform for viewing the show, and operating systems must be compatible to view it. Please make sure your computer meets the requirements ahead of time. Instructions are located at CSTV.