Aug. 18, 2012
HARRISBURG, Va.- The Penn State field hockey team ended the 2012 exhibition season on Saturday afternoon, downing James Madison University 8-0 in two periods of regulation. The Nittany Lions extended their lead to 10-0 after a running-clock overtime, and then concluded the contest with a shootout competition. Senior Kelsey Amy (Sweet Valley, Pa.) came away with three goals in the 85 minute game, while sophomore Jenna Chrismer (Mountain Top, Pa.) tallied two goals.
"I thought that today was a great effort by our team," said head coach Charlene Morett. "I thought that everyone showed a lot of depth. We made adjustments from yesterday's game, and we did a much better job of managing the ball through the backfield and the midfield, and just really attacked and defended well as a team."
The Lions outshot the Dukes 28-4, with senior goalkeeper Ayla Halus (Hershey, Pa.) making two saves on the day. Hannah George and Lena Wimmert shared the net for JMU, making a combined 10 saves. Penn State also led in corner kicks with 10, with four goals coming off of penalty corners.
Amy struck first for the Lions, scoring late in the first period from a penalty corner with an assist from Whitney Reddig (Lititz, Pa.). The duo set up yet another goal from a penalty corner with a minute and a half remaining in the half. Amy recorded seven points during the match with three goals and an assist.
Junior Annie Abdo (Langhorne, Pa.) kicked off the second period with a goal at the 40:40 mark, capitalizing off of a rebound from Amy. Five minutes later, sophomore Katie Andrews (Lancaster, Pa.) tallied a goal off of a deflection from sophomore Laura Gebhart (Mount Joy, Pa.).
Penn State extended its lead to 5-0 with a goal from senior Hannah Allison (Mifflinburg, Pa.) less than two minutes later off of a penalty corner. Brittany Grzywacz continued the offensive assault, scoring off of another penalty corner with assists from Ashtin Klingler (Selinsgrove, Pa.) and Gebhart.
Chrismer and sophomore Casey Haegele (Abington, Pa.) scored the final goals of regulation, giving the Lions an 8-0 advantage. During the third and final period, Amy notched an assisted goal while Chrismer set the score at 10-0 after an assist from Klingler.
Penn State now looks to start the regular season after coming off of two impressive performances in exhibition contests. The Lions will take on Old Dominion on Friday, Aug. 24, at 5:00 p.m. in the season and home opener at the Field Hockey Complex. On Sunday, Aug. 26, the squad will host Virginia for a 12:00 p.m. matchup.
Old Dominion kicks off the 2012 season with momentum from a successful 2011 campaign, making it all the way to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament before falling 4-0 to Maryland. The Monarchs were 22-3 overall last season and were undefeated (8-0) in conference play. Last year, the Lions were defeated 5-2 in the season opening contest and Old Dominion leads the all-time record with 15-11-0. Virginia went 18-12 last season with a 1-5 mark in the ACC. Penn State defeated the Cavaliers 3-0 last year and holds a 14-5-0 all-time regular season record.
Check back to GoPSUsports.com for continued updates leading into the 2012 season.
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