Sept. 17, 2011
DURHAM, N.C. - Behind stellar goalkeeping from redshirt junior Ayla Halus (Hershey, Pa.), the Penn State field hockey team picked up a big 2-1 victory over the Duke Blue Devils on Saturday afternoon. Penn State has now won its last two matchups with Duke.
Halus made a season-high 10 saves in the cage. Sophomore Lauren Purvis (Maple Glen, Pa.) and junior Kelsey Amy (Sweet Valley, Pa.) each scored goals for the Nittany Lions.
Just 2:50 into the game, Duke's leading scorer Emmie Le Marchand fired a shot on goal, but Halus made a save to keep the game even. Within the next three minutes, Halus would come up big again, making two more saves, one of which came on a penalty corner with 29:46 remaining in the first half.
Halus continued to make saves, as she recorded three more through the 15:17 mark. Penn State had applied no offensive pressure at that point. However, the Nittany Lions finally controlled the ball in their offensive half of the field and executed right away. With 10:06 remaining in the half, freshman Laura Gebhart (Mount Joy, Pa.) took a shot that was blocked by a Duke defender. Purvis snatched the rebound and hit a ball past the goalie to give Penn State a 1-0 lead.
The Blue Devils immediately tried to answer, but Halus just continued to be dominant, as she made saves at 8:05 and 5:45. The Nittany Lions would then apply pressure and capitalize again. Penn State was awarded a penalty corner, and Gebhart's shot was saved by Duke goalkeeper Samantha Nelson. However, on a second penalty corner less than a minute later, Amy scored on an assist from sophomore Whitney Reddig (Lititz, Pa.) to give the Lions a 2-0 lead heading into halftime.
The Nittany Lions brought on the pressure early in the first second half, as Reddig had a shot saved by the Duke goalie. Then with 27:49 remaining in the second half, Duke earned a penalty corner and capitalized, as Tara Jennings scored to cut the Penn State lead to 2-1.
In the closing moments, Duke kept the ball down in Penn State's end. Rhian Jones of the Blue Devils fired a shot with 2:36 remaining, but Halus was able to come up with the save.
Penn State will take on Virginia Commonwealth on the James Madison campus tomorrow at 1 p.m.
Penn State hosts the 2011 Big Ten Field Hockey Tournament from Nov. 3-6. Tickets for the Big Ten Tournament can be purchased by contacting the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office at 814-865-5555. All session passes are $18 for adults and $12 for students/senior citizens. Single session tickets will run at $8 for adults and $5 for students/senior citizens. Groups of 15 people or more may also purchase tickets at $12 for all session passes and $5 for a single session.
Check back to GoPSUsports.com for continued updates throughout the 2011 season.
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