Nov. 6, 2009
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EAST LANSING, Mich. - Despite tying the score midway through the first half, the Penn State field hockey team couldn't fight all the way back, allowing two second half goals in a 3-1 defeat to Indiana in Friday's Big Ten Semifinals. With the win, the Hoosiers advance to face Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship Game. The Lions end their season at 7-13 highlighted by two wins over Ohio State, including one on Thursday which marked only the second time a No. 7 seed has ever won a game in the Big Ten Tournament.
"I'm proud of the way we played," said head coach Charlene Morett. "We fought for 70 minutes and showed great competitive spirit. Give credit to Indiana, who played great around the goal. Our goalie, Ali Meves played great today as well."
Freshman Kelsey Amy accounted for the Lions' lone score to finish with three for the tournament which is tied for 10th all-time in one Big Ten Tournament. Meves was strong in making three incredible saves to keep Penn State close.
Indiana took the quick lead less than five minutes into the game when it converted its second corner attempt. After Katie Griswold's insert, Kelsey Kiper made a nifty pass to Morgan Fleetwood, whose shot beat Meves inside the right post at 4:48.
The Hoosiers continued their relentless pressure, but couldn't beat the junior goalkeeper for a second time. After a number of golden opportunities, including a one-on-one chance by redshirt freshman Hannah Allison, the Nittany Lions made it 1-1 when Amy scored yet another goal off a penalty corner. This time, sophomore Jessica Longstreth made the insert to redshirt freshman Kristen Schaefer. Amy's blast was deflected by an Indiana defender high and past goalkeeper Alex Mann to make it 1-1 at 21:46.
Penn State nearly fell into another hole with under eight minutes remaining in the first, but Meves came up with a pair of incredible saves in succession to keep the score knotteed at one. She first came out strong on Griswold, who was sprung in all alone. After making the stop on the end line, she somehow got back in position to make a stick save of a Kiper attempt.
After over 13 minutes of scoreless second half play, Indiana retook the 2-1 lead at 48:47 when Brooke Borneman converted an odd man rush. Redshirt senior Jen Miller made a huge defensive save on the first shot, but couldn't stop the rebound as Borneman fifth goal of the season gave the Hoosiers the lead for good.
Corey Brautigam scored an inusrance goal off a penalty corner attempt at 52:00 for the 3-1 final.
Final shots were 11-4 in favor of Indiana while Meves and Mann each had three saves. Indiana held the 6-4 edge in penalty corners.
The Nittany Lions end their season at 7-13, including three wins against ranked foes and two versus Ohio State. They also made history in becoming only the second No. 7 seed in Big Ten history to win a tournament game.
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