Oct. 14, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State field hockey team (11-3, 3-0) will look to make it 10 straight wins as it travels to the 10th-ranked Michigan Wolverines on Sunday afternoon at 12 p.m. The Nittany Lions have outscored their opponents 44-10 during a nine-game winning streak.
The game can be followed via a live stats link on GoPSUSports.com. The contest can also be viewed live on BTN.com through the Big Ten Network's "Student U" production.
Penn State picked up its ninth straight victory on Tuesday evening in a 6-0 winning effort against the Lafayette Leopards. Penn State outshot the Leopards 19-4 in a dominant offensive performance. Junior Kelsey Amy (Sweet Valley, Pa.) netted two goals for the Nittany Lions in the win. Senior Casey McCartin (Horsham, Pa.) had a great performance as well, scoring her first goal of the season. Sophomore Ashtin Klingler (Selinsgrove, Pa.) scored for the second straight game and sophomore Whitney Reddig (Lititz, Pa.) also contributed to the scoring effort. Additionally, freshman Taylor Herold (Fredericksburg, Va.) added a goal in the second half. Junior Ayla Halus (Hershey, Pa.) and freshman Kylie Licata (Langhorne, Pa.) each split time in the cage.
Michigan enters Sunday's game with a 10-3 overall record and a 1-1 mark in Big Ten play. Michigan defeated Northwestern (3-2 in double overtime) and Yale (7-1) in Evanston this past weekend and has now won four games in a row, two of which were in Big Ten play. Fifth-year Christi Barwick leads the Big Ten and is eighth in the nation with a 1.11 goals-against-average. She also is second in save percentage (.735) and tied for second in shutouts (2). Rachel Mack is tied for fourth in goals (9) and tied for fifth in points (20).
In 36 total matchups, Penn State holds a 22-14 advantage over Michigan in the all-time series. The Wolverines have won five of the last six matchups, including a 4-3 overtime win over PSU last season in the Big Ten Tournament. The Nittany Lions' last victory over Michigan came on Oct. 26, 2008 in a 3-0 victory at home. Penn State is 8-6 all-time in games played in Ann Arbor.
Following Michigan on Sunday, Penn State will return to Happy Valley next Saturday for a noon matchup with the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Nittany Lions will then travel to Bucknell on Oct. 25 before heading back to State College to close out the regular season against Michigan State.
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.