Sept. 21, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State field hockey team (5-3) will host the Temple Owls in a midweek matchup at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex this Thursday at 6 p.m. This will be the 38th matchup between the Nittany Lions and the Owls. The game can be followed on Gametracker via a link on GoPSUSports.com.
The Nittany Lions are coming off a pair of victories this past weekend, including a 2-1 win over No. 6 Duke and a 6-1 downing of VCU. On Saturday afternoon at Duke, redshirt junior Ayla Halus (Hershey, Pa.) was stellar in the cage for the Nittany Lions. Sophomore Lauren Purvis (Maple Glen, Pa.) and junior Kelsey Amy (Sweet Valley, Pa.) each scored goals for Penn State. On Sunday against the Rams, sophomore Brittany Grzywacz (Collegeville, Pa.) had a big day for the Nittany Lions as she tallied five points on two goals and an assist. Freshman Laura Gebhart (Mount Joy, Pa.) scored her first career-goal and also tallied two assists.
Following a strong two games in the cage for the Nittany Lions this past weekend, Halus was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday. Halus' play was crucial in victories over No. 6 Duke on Saturday and Virginia Commonwealth on Sunday. In the two victories this past weekend, Halus allowed just one goal over the two-game span. On Saturday, she made 10 saves and allowed one goal against the sixth-ranked Blue Devils. The 10 saves for Halus was a season-high. She played in the first 45 minutes against VCU and made three stops while allowing no goals.
The Owls enter Thursday's game with a 3-5 record, coming off a 2-1 loss to Drexel this past Sunday. Temple's three wins came over Bucknell (4-0), Lafayette (4-3) and Delaware (2-1). The Owls also took No. 9 Michigan to overtime, where the Wolverines escaped Philadelphia with a 3-2 victory. Leading the way for Temple is Bridget Settles, who has a team-best 22 points this season, coming on 10 goals and two assists. Caryn Lambright has scored two goals and contributed one assist as well. Lizzy Millen will be making the start in the cage for Temple. Through eight games this season, she has allowed an average of 2.72 goals per game to go along with 37 saves. She has recorded one shutout, which came against Bucknell.
The Nittany Lions hold a commanding 29-6-2 lead in the all-time series between the two teams. The last time these two teams met was on Sept. 18, 2010 at Temple. Penn State earned a 4-0 win, which was also head coach Charlene Morett's 400th victory. The last time Temple defeated Penn State came on Oct. 11, 1983 in a 4-1 Owl victory.
Penn State will open Big Ten play this Sunday at Iowa.
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 Penn State Field Hockey updates throughout the 2011 season.
Follow Penn State field hockey on Twitter: www.twitter.com/PennStateFH and www.twitter.com/GoPSUGreg.