Sept. 2, 2011
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - The Penn State field hockey team picked up its second straight victory on Friday night by defeating the Lock Haven Bald Eagles, 5-2, for the 10th straight time. Penn State improves to 2-1 on the year, heading into a highly anticipated matchup with the fourth-ranked Connecticut Huskies on Sunday at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex.
In the first half, the Nittany Lions capitalized with goals on two penalty corners, one by sophomore Brittany Grzywacz (Collegeville, Pa.) and a second by junior Kelsey Amy (Sweet Valley, Pa.). Sophomore Lauren Purvis (Maple Glen, Pa.) additionally netted her second goal of the season in the second half. Lock Haven would cut the Penn State lead to one, but junior Hannah Allison (Mifflinburg, Pa.) and freshman Jenna Chrismer (Mountain Top, Pa.) would secure the victory with goals later on in the second half.
"Lock Haven is always a very challenging team to play," said Penn State head coach Charlene Morett. "Those kids never quit. Whenever we made mistakes, they made us pay for it. Overall though, I am very impressed with the way we played tonight. Our pressure from the forwards was phenomenal."
Penn State had 31 total shots in the game, including 19 on goal. The Lions also had an incredible 19 penalty corners compared to just four by Lock Haven. The Nittany Lions held the Bald Eagles to six shots on the night. Junior Ayla Halus (Hershey, Pa.) had a solid game in net, making two saves for the Lions.
The Nittany Lions got on the board 10:23 into the game, when Grzywacz scored on a beautiful drag flick off a penalty corner. Sophomore Whitney Reddig (Lititz, Pa.) took the corner and freshman Laura Gebhart (Mount Joy, Pa.) dummied the ball. From there, Grzywacz struck the ball to the high near post where the Lock Haven goaltender was unable to make the save.
The Bald Eagles would then tie the game up moments later, when Kelly Harsh shot one near post past Halus, on a double-assist from Najia Hasan and Leslie Ahern. Nevertheless, Penn State would go up 2-1 nearly eight minutes later. Senior Casey McCartin (Horsham, Pa.) fed a nice ball to Amy in the middle, where the junior knocked it in near post.
In the second half, Penn State kept the pressure up and put together a nice goal. The speedy Amy brought the ball down to the left corner of the field and put the Nittany Lions in a good position. Gebhart eventually trapped the ball in the middle and trickled a nice pass up ahead to Purvis. The sophomore buried it and Penn State had a 3-1 lead with 24:47 remaining in the game.
Approximately five minutes later, Lock Haven would score on a breakaway. Halus initially made a nice save, but the rebound shot by Hasan went in, to cut the lead to 3-2.
Penn State would retake the two-goal lead at the 14:24 mark, when Allison nailed a backhander home to give the Nittany Lions a 4-2 lead. PSU would then up the lead to 5-2, when Chrismer buried one to the near post on an assist from Grzywacz. Grzywacz had a team-high three points on the night.
Sunday's home game with the Huskies 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.
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