Aug. 25, 2010
2010 Yearbook | Season Preview | Camp Video | Twitter Updates |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 18 Penn State field hockey team officially opens the 2010 season with a pair of home games at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex this weekend. The Nittany Lions face a pair of national powers - No. 16 Old Dominion on Friday (5 p.m.) and No. 3 Virginia on Sunday (12 p.m.).
Fans can follow live all weekend long through the Penn State Field Hockey Twitter page. Check back often for continued game updates if you can't make it to Happy Valley.
The Lions are coming off a strong effort at Maryland in their first and only exhibition game of the preseason, dropping a closely contested 3-1 decision at defending national finalist Maryland last Friday. Freshman Brittany Grzywacz (Collegeville, Pa.) gave the Lions a 1-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the game, but it wasn't enough.
Friday marks the first of 11 home games for the Nittany Lions, their most home tilts since 2003.
Charlene Morett, who enters her 24th season as head coach at Penn State, is one of two Nittany Lion coaches on the verge of the same milestone victory. While head football coach Joe Paterno enters 2010 with 394 career wins, Morett has 396, looking to become only the fourth Division I coach in NCAA field hockey history to reach that plateau.
Penn State trails the all-time series against Old Dominion, 14-10, but leads Virginia, 13-4. The Nittany Lions are looking for their first win over a team ranked in the top three since defeating Wake Forest in the 2007 National Semifinals.
The opening weekend features a number of additional storylines (below).
Old Friends, Co-Workers Reunite
• Old friends will oppose each other on Friday when Penn State head coach Charlene Morett meets Old Dominion legend Beth Anders.
• Anders actually hired Morett as an assistant in 1980. During that run, the Monarchs reached three NCAA Tournaments.
• The experience helped Morett earn her first head coaching job, with Boston College in 1984, before she joined Penn State in 1987. Morett has been at her alma mater ever since.
• Anders had this to say about Morett:
"One of Char's best assets is her heart. It represents how much she cares about her players. She develops more than a field hockey player; she develops people. Coaching against Char is not only challenging, but fun. It's a challenge because Char's teams are prepared; they bring emotion and a strong game plan. Char is a fierce competitor but it's all about the game and that makes it fun."
On The Verge Of A Milestone
• Morett enters the season only four wins shy of her 400th career win.
• Entering the season, she owns a 396-158-17 career record, which includes her three seasons at Boston College where she posted a 34-16-8 mark.
• She would become only the fourth Division I coach in NCAA history (ninth overall) to reach the 400-win plateau, joining three others who are all still active: Old Dominion's Beth Anders (511), UConn's Nancy Stevens (500) and North Carolina's Karen Shelton (482).
Scouting Old Dominion
• The NCAA's all-time winningest program welcomes back seven starters from last year's squad, highlighted by senior forward Kathryn Kirk who led the way with nine goals in 2009.
• Also returning is senior Loran Hatch, who had seven goals and seven assists last season. Sophomore midfielder and 2009 CAA All-Rookie selection Julie Hodge returns as well.
• Like the Nittany Lions, Old Dominion looks to bounce back from a challenging season in hopes of advancing to its 28th NCAA appearance (most all-time).
Scouting Virginia
• The Cavaliers are coming off a record-breaking 2009, which included a school-record win total while advancing to the National Semifinals. They finished the season with a 20-4 record.
• The squad returns eight starters, including the NFHCA South Region Player of the Year Paige Selenski who racked up an incredible 27 goals.
• Last season's goalkeeper Kim Kastulk returns after posting a 0.97 GAA and eight shutouts last season.
Penn State Field Hockey Ranked 18th In Preseason NFHCA Coaches Poll
• The Nittany Lions enter the 2010 season ranked 18th in the preseason Kookaburra/NFHCA Coaches Poll, as announced on Tuesday. They are one of five Big Ten teams in the top 20.
• In total, the Lions will face five of the top 10 teams in the nation and nine of the top 20: Virginia (3), Princeton (4), Connecticut (5), Michigan State (7), Duke (10), Ohio State (14), Old Dominion (16), Indiana (17) and Iowa (19). Six of those games come at home with only Connecticut, Michigan State and Ohio State on the road.
• Four other 2010 opponents - Northwestern, Michigan, Lafayette and Lock Haven - are also among others receiving votes.
Alloway & Zug Named Team Captains
• Penn State field hockey senior Daneen Zug (Manheim, Pa.) and redshirt junior Lauren Alloway (Hummelstown, Pa.) have been named team captains for the 2010 season.
• Zug has excelled on and off the field, being named a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree while also earning Second Team All-Big Ten laurels in 2008. After playing 12 games as a freshman, she broke out as a sophomore with 23 points which included a team-leading 10 goals. Last year, Zug scored three goals, two of which came in a memorable 6-4 win against Pacific (Oct. 24), the same afternoon that her brother Graham scored three touchdowns in Penn State football's 35-10 rout at Michigan.
• Alloway enters her fourth year in the program as well, which includes a redshirt season in 2007. After limited action in '08, she saw significant playing time last year, playing in 17 games (six starts). She started the first five games of 2009, anchoring a solid defensive core which allowed only six goals in its first four games. Three of the games were against nationally ranked opponents (#16 Old Dominion, #6 Virginia, #5 Connecticut).
2010 Yearbook Now Available Online!
• The 2010 field hockey online yearbook is now available! In it, you can find everything you need to know about Penn State field hockey including stats, player bios, a complete history section and much more. Just click here to view.
Sign Up For Penn State Field Hockey News
• Fans, want to stay up to date on the Penn State field hockey team? Sign up today by contacting Justin Lafleur (jal47@psu.edu) in the Penn State Athletic Communications Department. You will receive game previews, game recaps, news releases and more, straight to your inbox!
Follow Penn State Field Hockey On Twitter!
• Penn State field hockey is now on Twitter! You can find exclusive notes and features to help you stay one step ahead when following the Nittany Lions.
• Included will be live in game scoring updates, so if you can't make it to Happy Valley, you'll still be able to follow all the action. Go to www.twitter.com and search for the username PennStateFH. Or just click here.