Sept. 14, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 6 Penn State field hockey team moved past Lehigh on Friday evening, recording an 8-0 shutout on the road for its fourth consecutive win. The Nittany Lions advance to a 7-2 record, while the Mountain Hawks fall to 1-6 overall. Fifth-year senior Hannah Allison (Mifflinburg, Pa.) scored the game-winning goal just three minutes into the contest after a penalty corner.
Allison's goal came at the 3:01 mark of the first period after a penalty corner taken by junior Whitney Reddig (Lititz, Pa.). With a stop from sophomore Laura Gebhart (Mount Joy, Pa.), the co-captain was able to wind up and send her shot past Lehigh goalkeeper Sophie Fitzpatrick. With her first game-winner of the season, Allison gave the Lions an early 1-0 lead.
Exactly three minutes later, senior Kelsey Amy (Sweet Valley, Pa.) would score her ninth goal of the season on another penalty corner. Assisted by Allison, Amy sent a rocket of a shot past Fitzpatrick to extend Penn State's lead to 2-0. The senior continued to pepper the goalkeeper with shots, and soon found an ally in the form of forward Lauren Alwine (Elizabethtown, Pa.). Alwine fed a shot up to Amy, and the forward fired the ball into the cage for her second goal of the game. Amy now sits at 22 points to lead the squad.
At the 14:05 mark, Lauran Purvis (Maple Glen, Pa.) lined up to take another Penn State penalty corner. The junior sent the ball up to Gebhart, who stopped the ball directly in front of Allison. Netting her second goal of the game, Allison moved the score to 4-0 with a shot past Fitzpatrick. Gebhart recorded her second assist of the game, while Purvis moved to five points on the season with her first assist.
After a Lehigh timeout, Sydney Maltinsky moved into net for the Mountain Hawks, while redshirt sophomore Kylie Licata (Mountain Top, Pa.) took over the Penn State cage. Soon after, Licata faced two back-to-back shots from Emily Torcivia and stopped both to remain perfect in net. Junior Brittany Grzywacz continued to push the Lions' offense, sending one of her two shots towards Maltinsky. She was denied, howver, by Marie Mignogna with a defensive save.
As time began to expire in the first period, Grzywacz found Gebhart in front of the net after a Penn State penalty corner. The sophomore made a quick move around a Lehigh defender and fired a low shot towards Maltinsky. The ball deflected off the post and behind the netminder to extend the Lions' lead by five goals. It was Gebhart's third goal of the season and her fourth point of the night.
The second period began with six unanswered shots from the Lions, with Mignogna and Steph Fratoni making a defensive save each. Reddig would finally prevail at the 40:23 mark of the game, taking advantage of one of the many rebounds following a penalty corner. It was her second of the season.
Lehigh began to kick their offense into overdrive 10 minutes into the half. Awarded three penalty corners in a row, Ricker sent a challenging shot towards Licata to try and put the Mountain Hawks on the board. The Penn State netminder batted the shot away, however, to keep the score at 6-0. The Lions were able to regain possession and flew back down the field. At the 50:00 mark, sophomore Taylor Herold (Fredericksburg, Va.) was fed a quick shot by junior Ashtin Klingler (Selinsgrove, Pa.) in front of Maltinsky. Herold sent a swift, low shot to beat the goalkeeper and tallied her second goal of the season. The Lions now had a 7-0 lead.
After freshman Bethany Mink (Allentown, Pa.) fired her first collegiate shot, which Maltinsky saved, freshman Ally Lauth (State College, Pa.) found the ball out in front and sent a follow up shot on goal. The rebound came out to Jenna Chrismer (Mountain Top, Pa.) and the sophomore put the ball past Maltinsky during a scramble in front. Chrismer's first goal of the season set the score at 8-0 in favor of the Lions.
"I thought that it was obviously a great team effort," said head coach Charlene Morett. "Both goalies played very well and it was great to get everybody some playing time. And we thought that the second half was a much better possession game."
Penn State outshot Lehigh 30-9 and held a 9-6 penalty corner advantage. Halus made one save during her time in net to earn the win before Licata stepped in. The redshirt sophomore made five saves to help the team earn their third consecutive shutout. Fitzpatrick made four saves for the Mountain Hawks, while Maltinsky recorded seven saves.
The Lions return to action on Saturday, Sept. 15, when they travel to New Jersey to take on Monmouth. The squad battles the Hawks at 2 p.m. for its sixth game in 10 days.
Check back to GoPSUSports.com for continued updates during the 2012 season. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/PennStateFH and find us on Facebook at facebook.com/pennstatefieldhockey.
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