UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - After heated 3-2 victory over Lafayette on Sunday, the No. 8 Penn State field hockey team will resume competition with yet another nationally ranked, top-10 team. The Nittany Lions, currently 3-1 on the season, will host Princeton on Thursday, Sept. 6, at the Field Hockey Complex for a 6:00 p.m. meeting.
In spite of the team's first loss of the season coming after a trip to No. 7 Connecticut, the squad rebounded with a win over the Leopards just two days later. The Lions have several challenges in front of them in the upcoming weeks, including the Tigers, and will additionally travel to Temple on Saturday, Sept. 8 and host Cornell on Sunday, Sept. 9. Head coach Charlene Morett scheduled a fast-paced lineup for Penn State, with six games being played in the next 10 days, including Lock Haven, Lehigh and Monmouth.
Last time out, junior Ashtin Klingler (Selinsgrove, Pa.) recorded the game-winning goal against Lafayette, becoming the sixth Lion to score this season. Senior Kelsey Amy (Sweet Valley, Pa.) also notched a goal, scoring her fourth of the season and tallying her eighth point to lead the squad. Boasting six points, junior Brittany Grzywacz (Collegeville, Pa.) scored the third and final goal of the contest, moving her season total to three. Sophomore Laura Gebhart (Mount Joy, Pa.) leads the team with three assists, while juniors Whitney Reddig (Lititz, Pa.) and Lauren Purvis (Maple Glen, Pa.) each have four points.
"I want to see team play, team attack and team defense," said Morett. "Princeton has great depth and their players have a lot of experience. They have two girls that played in London, the Reinprecht sisters, and they have two girls, Kat Sharkey and Michelle Cesan, who trained with the Olympic team for a year. So they're really solid fundamentally and just very creative in their play."
Last season, the Tigers ended the regular season with a 10-8 record and went 6-1 in conference play. After shutting out Penn 3-0 in the league finals, Princeton claimed their seventh consecutive Ivy League title and then went on to face Connecticut in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Princeton currently sits at 2-0 after defeating Duke, 5-2, and Wake Forest, 4-2. Sharkey had a seven-goal weekend, tallying all four in the Wake Forest contest. She leads the team with 15 points, while the Reinprecht sisters each have four points with four assists. Against the Blue Devils, Allison Evans and Charlotte Krause each scored their first of the season, adding to Sharkey's three of the game.
Penn State owns the all-time series versus Princeton with a 23-7 overall record. In the Lions' last meeting with the Tigers, Princeton defeated Penn State, 4-3, on Sept. 8, 2011 in New Jersey.
Penn State will be giving out free baskets of wings at the game! Wings will be available as long as supplies last, so get to the Penn State Field Hockey Complex early. During halftime, there will be wing-off competition to play for prizes.
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