Aug. 17, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - With the 2011 season set to begin, the Penn State field hockey team, under the direction of 25th year head coach Char Morett, will host a pair of exhibitions on Thursday and Friday at the Penn State Field Hockey complex. The Nittany Lions will take on James Madison at 1 p.m. on Thursday afternoon, followed by a 10 a.m. matchup with defending national champion Maryland.
Maryland went 23-1 last season and posted a 3-2 double overtime victory over ACC foe North Carolina in the National Championship game. The Nittany Lions had a 3-1 setback to the Terrapins last year in an exhibition match. Penn State holds a 20-11-1 all-time regular season record against Maryland.
The Dukes of James Madison, who are picked to finish third in the CAA this season, went 9-10 last season with a 4-4 record in conference play. The Nittany Lions are 19-4-1 all-time in regular season matchups with JMU.
A young Penn State squad features two seniors, five juniors, eight sophomores and seven freshmen. Leading the way for the Nittany Lions this season will be returning captains Lauren Alloway (Hummelstown, Pa.) and Hannah Allison (Mifflinburg, Pa.), along with new captain Alex Schlener (Bethlehem, Pa.).
All-Americans Kelsey Amy (Sweet Valley, Pa.) and Ayla Halus (Hershey, Pa.) return to the Nittany Lion lineup for 2011. Halus garnered second-team All-American honors after piecing together a masterful season in goal for Penn State. She led the nation with an incredible .826 save percentage, which was almost 20 points higher than the next closest competitor. She was also the only goalkeeper to record at least 100 saves while allowing fewer than 30 goals. As a first-team All-Conference and All-Region selection last year, Amy led the team and ranked third in the league with 19 goals. Overall, she averaged 0.95 goals per contest, which was the 10th highest rate in the nation.
The Nittany Lions will also debut a total of eight newcomers on Thursday, including seven freshmen. Katie Andrews (Lancaster, Pa.), Katie Breneman (Washington Boro, Pa.), Jenna Chrismer (Lansdale, Pa.), Amanda Dinunzio (State College, Pa.), Laura Gebhart (Mount Joy, Pa.), Casey Haegele (Abington, Pa.), and Taylor Herold (Fredericksburg, Va.) will represent the freshmen class. Sophomore Ashtin Klingler (Selinsgrove, Pa.) will make her debut as well after playing with Syracuse last season.
Penn State's first regular season contest will take place on Friday, Aug. 26 at Old Dominion. Four of the first five regular season games for the Nittany Lions will be played on the road.
Check back to GoPSUsports.com for continued updates leading into the 2011 season. Follow Penn State field hockey on Twitter: www.twitter.com/PennStateFH.