Sept. 16, 2013
By Julie Bacanskas, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 13 Nittany Lions defeated defending NCAA champion No. 3 Princeton for the first time since the 2010 season on Sunday afternoon, by a final score of 4-3, with two goals coming from junior Taylor Herold (Fredericksburg, Va.).
"Beating Princeton is huge," said Herold. "We came in really prepared for this game. It's just a huge confidence booster for our team, which we needed coming off of the two losses not so long ago. It's definitely going to help us a lot."
Head coach Charlene Morett was also very pleased with the outcome of Sunday's game, especially due to the team's overall play.
"It feels great," stated Morett on recording the win. "Last time we were here, we were up and had a lead. Today we obviously got the lead and were able to keep the game flowing to secure the win. I thought we played an outstanding first half and had a great start to the second half. We really just showed a lot of courage and determination to hold on the win as the game went into the second half."
After struggling to strike first during their first few matches, the Lions were able to secure the first scores of the game, gaining an early 2-0 lead over the defending national champions. Nonetheless, the team remained composed, aware that Princeton would not give up easily. Before the conclusion of the first half, the Tigers cut Penn State's lead down to 2-1.
At the start of the second, Penn State recorded two more quick goals, bringing the score to 4-1.
"The second half we were pretty pumped up and ready to go," said Herold. "We just went after it and got those two goals quick. We knew right from there we were going to have to hold Princeton because they were going to come back strong. That's where the discipline on defense came in. Even though they scored two goals, we held them in the end."
During the second half, Princeton came within one of the Nittany Lions but was ultimately unable to complete a comeback thanks to Penn State's stellar defensive play.
"Our defense and our goalkeeper did a great job of keeping the game under control," commented Morett on her team. "We gave up some corners, but I thought that they just did an excellent job, especially towards the last five minutes of the game where they just showed great determination."
Morett was also quick to recognize Herold's efforts, not only during the game against Princeton, but as a whole so far this season.
"Taylor just has grown from game to game, and it's nice to see," stated Morett. "She's shown a lot of composure taking the ball to the net. Against Princeton especially, she had a really great warm-up. I thought she was ready to take the corner shot."
While Herold's success is building her confidence, she was quick to point out that these games have been a team effort. With regards to the Princeton game, Herold gave much of the credit to her teammate Lauren Purvis (Maple Glen, Pa.), who registered an assist during the match.
"Being able to contribute gives me more confidence going into each game, but I couldn't have done it without the rest of the team," added Herold. "Lauren Purvis had an amazing pass to me for the first goal, and the second goal came off a corner, which Lauren got a tip on. We just have to keep taking the shots and putting pressure on the goalie like we did today."
With Sunday's win, Penn State also snapped Princeton's 17-match winning streak and improved to 3-3 on the season.
"We accomplished our goals today," said Herold. "Not only did we score and finish, but we also reached our goals of playing with discipline on defense and pressuring the ball. Our future looks good if we keep playing how we played today."
Penn State will return to the Field Hockey Complex for their next match, hosting the University of Delaware on Friday night at 5 p.m.