Aug. 18, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State field hockey team opened the 2011 exhibition portion of the season with a 7-0 victory over the James Madison Dukes on Thursday afternoon. Junior Kelsey Amy (Sweet Valley, Pa.) and sophomore Whitney Reddig (Lititz, Pa.) each led the way for the Lions with two goals.
Reddig played a great all-around game for the Nittany Lions as she additionally added two assists. Freshman Taylor Herold (Fredericksburg, Va.) also netted one goal and two assists. Junior goalkeeper Ayla Halus (Hershey, Pa.) started in goal and recorded a save. The Nittany Lions out shot the Dukes, 44-3.
The Nittany Lions struck just 2:10 into the game, as Reddig scored the first goal on a beautiful pass from the corner from Brittany Grzywacz (Collegeville, Pa.). Penn State then took a 2-0 lead when Amy scored on an assist from Reddig at the 9:32 mark. The Lions left the first of three periods with the 2-0 advantage.
In the second period, Amy netted her second goal of the season on an assist from Herold, which was set up off a corner with 19:23 remaining in the second period. The Nittany Lions increased their lead to 4-0 when sophomore Lauren Purvis (Maple Glen, Pa.) scored off another assist from Herold. Penn State upped its lead to 5-0 later in the period on a goal from Reddig at the 1:51 mark.
In the third and final period, sophomore Annie Abdo (Langhorne, Pa.) scored off an assist from freshman Casey Haegle (Abington, Pa.). The seventh goal came in the final second of the game, when Herold scored off a corner and double-assist from Purvis and Reddig.
Penn State will close out the exhibition season on Friday at 10 a.m. when it hosts 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.
Check back to GoPSUsports.com for continued updates leading into the 2011 season.
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