Oct. 4, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State field hockey team (9-3, 2-0) picked up its seventh straight victory on Tuesday evening in a 7-2 winning effort against the Villanova Wildcats. The seven goals and 19 points were both a season-highs for the Nittany Lions.
Junior Kelsey Amy (Sweet Valley, Pa.) scored the first three goals of the game to put the Nittany Lions in front 3-0. Freshman Laura Gebhart (Mount Joy, Pa.) scored a career-high two goals and reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week Taylor Herold (Fredericksburg, Va.) scored a goal for the second straight game. Sophomore Brittany Grzywacz (Collegeville, Pa.) also scored on a penalty corner. Senior Casey McCartin (Horsham, Pa.) tallied a career-high 3 assists.
Amy's first goal came a fast 14 seconds into the game, as McCartin fed a nice pass up the middle to the junior forward. Amy beat three defenders and found the back of the net. The McCartin-Amy combo continued six minutes later, as she fed a ball into the circle where Amy got by a defender in a one-on-one situation. She scored to give the Lions a 2-0 lead.
Sophomore Whitney Reddig (Lititz, Pa.) assisted Amy on her third goal, which came on a penalty corner at 14:57 into the game. Gebhart put Penn State up 4-0 when she scored on a play that was set up off a penalty corner. Gebhart took the ball and weaved through a few defenders to increase Penn State's lead. Herold followed with an unassisted goal. Just before halftime, Jessica Swoboda scored for the Wildcats to end the shutout.
Penn State continued the scoring in the second half, as Grzywacz opened up the second half on a drag flick goal off a penalty corner. Gebhart and McCartin earned an assist on the play. Villanova would cut the lead to 6-2 when Kristen Davila scored her second goal of the season. Gebhart scored the final goal at the 20 minute mark to give PSU a 7-2 advantage.
Penn State travels to Bloomington, Ind. this weekend to take on the Indiana Hoosiers. The Nittany Lions will look to get a 3-0 start in Big Ten play.
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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