April 1, 2011
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The Penn State field hockey team opened up its spring season with an outstanding effort during a pair of games hosted by the University of Virginia on Saturday, March 26.
During the weekend competition, the Nittany Lions faced a tough slate as the squad battled a pair of teams that earned berths to the 2010 NCAA Tournament. In addition to the host Cavaliers, who advanced to the semifinals last year, PSU also squared off with Old Dominion, which captured the Colonial Athletic Association Championship and made it to the NCAA quarterfinals.
Against the top-flight opposition, Penn State pieced together an excellent performance as the squad upended ODU before falling to UVA in strokes. Hannah Allison scored twice during the action, while Jessica Longstreth successfully converted a pair of strokes.
In the opening round against the Monarchs, Brittany Grzywacz kicked off the action with an outstanding goal off a drag flick in the first half. Later, reigning All-American Kelsey Amy fired her first goal of the spring season after collecting a rebound off a corner.
After 70-minutes of regulation ended in a 2-2 tie, the teams turned to strokes to determine the winner. In a phenomenal effort, Penn State converted four shots to earn the victory as Longstreth, Amy, Allison, and Grzywacz all came through for the Lions.
With the win, Penn State advanced to face Virginia in the championship game. During the contest, Allison tallied both goals for PSU as the standout scored her first off a reverse stick shot before capitalizing on a straight shot off a corner.
Guided by Allison's efforts, the game headed to strokes after regulation ended in a 2-2 draw. Unfortunately, the Nittany Lions could not complete the weekend sweep as the Cavaliers posted the victory despite Longstreth's second successful stroke of the day.
The spring action marked the first for Penn State since the squad capped off an outstanding 2010 campaign in the fall. During the year, the Nittany Lions went 14-6 and punched a ticket to the NCAA Tournament where the squad hosted its first round game.
--PSU--