Sept. 13, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State is coming off its most dominant performance of the season, after blanking Lock Haven in a 3-0 win. The Nittany Lions will need to replicate its form on Sunday, when the team travels to No. 3 Princeton to take on the defending NCAA national champions.
Sunday's match between Princeton and Penn State will be the 32nd meeting in the series between the two sides. Historically, The Nittany Lions have dominated the series, holding a 23-8 record over the Tigers heading into Sunday's showdown.
However, the matchup has been much more competitive in recent years. Princeton has claimed a victory in the last two meetings, winning a 3-2 overtime thriller in University Park a season ago. The last win for the Blue and White in the series came on October 29, 2010. The Nittany Lions won a low scoring affair by a final score of 1-0. Each of the last three matches has been decided by one goal.
The Nittany Lions turned in their best defensive performance on Wendesday, September 11, against Lock Haven University. The back line absolutely stifled the Bald Eagle attack throughout the entire match.
Lock Haven did not record a shot or penalty corner opportunity through the first 60 minutes of the contest and tallied only two shots and two penalty corners in the entire match. In addition, the two Bald Eagle shots were not on goal.
The shutout marked the first time the Nittany Lions blanked the opposition since the team's 2-0 victory in the Big Ten Tournament championship game last season. The Blue and White recorded seven shutouts in 2012. The shutout also marked the first of junior goalkeeper Kylie Licata's (Mountain Top, Pa.) career.
Even though Penn State has played four teams currently ranked in the NFHCA Top 20 poll, Sunday's opponent may be the toughest yet. As of Thursday (Friday's match vs. Michigan State not included), Princeton has a perfect 2-0 record to begin the season. The Tigers have a current 16-match winning streak, the longest active streak in Division I field hockey.
Through two outings, Princeton has outscored the opposition 7-4 in a 4-3 victory over Fairfield and a 3-1 defeat of Duke. The Tigers have yet to allow a first half score this season. The defending champs have nearly doubled the opposition in penalty corners, recording 13 to the opponents seven.
Princeton's Teresa Benvenuti leads the team in goals scored with two, while adding one assist to total five points. Another impressive performer for the Orange and Black has been Michelle Cesan, who has produced five points off a goal and three assists.
After the Sunday showdown with the Tigers, the Nittany Lions return home to host the University of Delaware on Friday, September 20 at 5:00 p.m. The match will be played at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex.