Aug. 26, 2011
Charlottesville, Va. - The Penn State field hockey team (0-1) opened the 2011 campaign with a 5-2 setback to the No. 12 Old Dominion Monarchs on Friday afternoon in Charlottesville, Va. The game was played at the University of Virginia campus due to the effects of Hurricane Irene striking the Norfolk area.
"This was a very tough way to open the season," said Penn State head coach Charlene Morett. "Old Dominion is a very solid team from top to bottom. They played great defense and we were not smart coming out of the backfield at times."
Freshman Jenna Chrismer (Lansdale, Pa.) and senior captain Hannah Allison (Mifflinburg, Pa.) each scored goals in the second half for the Nittany Lions. Old Dominion jumped out to a 3-0 lead by halftime and upped it to 4-0 by the beginning of the second half. The Nittany Lions struck back with two quick goals, but ODU would halt the momentum and hang on for a 5-2 victory.
Within the first ten minutes ODU fired two shots, one that was saved by redshirt junior Ayla Halus (Hershey, Pa.) and the other was blocked. However, the Monarchs would finally capitalize 11:33 into the game when Kati Nearhouse scored from just inside the circle to give ODU a 1-0 lead. The Monarchs would then go up 2-0, as Cassandra Wagner scored.
The Monarchs continued bring pressure, when Danielle Clutter shot a ball she collected in the circle. The shot was deflected and made it into the cage. Heading out of halftime, ODU increased the lead to 4-0 as Emma Batteen scored 1:50 into the second half.
From that point, the Nittany Lions started to gain some momentum. Chrismer put the Nittany Lions on the board first, 41:29 into the game. Chrismer shot the ball left from right from 10 yards out to cut the lead to 4-1.
Penn State carried the momentum, which lead to another goal. This one was executed on a penalty corner, in which Allison scored on a double-assist from freshman Laura Gebhart (Mount Joy, Pa.) and sophomore Whitney Reddig (Lititz, Pa.).
However, the Monarchs would diminish the Penn State momentum with a fifth goal on a deflected shot that snuck by the goaltender with under 18 minutes remaining.
The Nittany Lions will stay in Charlottesville to take on national contender Virginia on Sunday. Penn State's first home game will come on Sep. 4 against UConn. That game will be a Code Blue Blast event, where students can earn points for attending the event. The top 250 point-earners by the end of the school year will receive guaranteed football ticket purchasing opportunities. The top 10 point-earners will receive free football tickets for next year.
Check back to GoPSUsports.com for continued updates throughout the 2011 season. Follow Penn State field hockey on Twitter: www.twitter.com/PennStateFH or www.twitter.com/GoPSUGreg.