Sept. 30, 2013
By Julie Bacanskas, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - With the offensive support of senior forward Ashtin Klingler (Selinsgrove, Pa.), the No. 8 Nittany Lions overtook both their opponents this weekend, extending their current winning streak to six matches and claiming their first Big Ten victory.
On Saturday afternoon, the Lions took on Miami of Ohio in a very close match, coming away with the win by a margin of one goal. The following day, Penn State made some adjustments and kicked off Big Ten play against Indiana. The squad successfully executed its fourth shut out of the season, winning the game by a final score of 4-1.
"I felt like against Miami of Ohio we just didn't feel as connected as a team," said head Coach Charlene Morett. "We had some better opportunities in the second half to score, but we just didn't seem as connected."
Trailing for the first time in their last five games, the team regrouped and came out strong in the second.
"I think again, we went down early on a goal that just wasn't great," explained Morett. "I don't even know if their attack player touched it or if it was an own goal against us, but that was a little disheartening. We sort of had to climb out of that hole, and it took us a lot to get going in that game. Then we totally controlled the second half."
Klingler helped spark the team, tying the game with a goal off a pass from junior Taylor Herold (Fredericksburg, Va.), and provided some much needed momentum.
"I think that we started off slow our first game this weekend, but going into halftime, we made the changes and the second half we came out ready to go against Miami of Ohio," agreed Klingler. "Against Indiana, we started out really, really strong. We were aggressive, and we just knew what our game plan was and we stuck to it and executed."
With a goal in Saturday's match and two additional goals against Indiana on Sunday, Klingler has scored in five of Penn State's last six games.
"I just have to credit my team," stated Klingler. "My midfielder put me in the right lanes to be successful on the press, and I had my forwards getting open for me so I could pass them the ball and just create different lanes so I could get those scoring opportunities."
The efforts of Klingler, Herold, and senior Abby Fuhrman (Bainbridge, Pa.) have not gone unnoticed by Morett, especially during the team's dominant match against Indiana.
"I think that the forward line players have all done a really good job of distributing the ball and putting the ball in scoring position," stated Morett. "Obviously Ashtin and Taylor have shown a lot of poise around the net and set each other up. Then I think our corner team, you know, we've been fortunate that we've been successful on corners. Today Abby, which Abby had like two shots from the corner unit all season long, finally connected. That was nice to see her get that goal against Indiana."
For this Penn State team, Big Ten play is competitive and something to look forward to every season. The student athletes enjoy the added excitement and aggressiveness taken into each and every game, which sets these Big Ten Conference games apart.
"I think there's always a little bit of juice going when you're playing conference games," explained Morett. "The team had a chance to watch Iowa play Northwestern on Friday, so we're sort of getting into the new season being the Big Ten."
In terms of Penn State's first Big Ten matchup, the team played solidly for all 70 minutes.
"I felt like our much, much better game was against Indiana," said Morett. "We made some adjustments in getting the forwards in good positions, so we played a much better passing game today."
With a six game winning streak and more Big Ten play to come, the team knows what needs to be done in order to remain successful.
"I think we just need to continue to play hard," stated Klingler. "Every Big Ten team is very competitive. We need to come out with fire, just play to our potential, and go out strong so we can be successful."
Looking forward, Penn State will continue their Big Ten play with a home game next Saturday at 1p.m.
"Our next Big Ten game is against Northwestern, and they had a phenomenal weekend at home," said Morett. "They opened their Big Ten play with a big time win over Iowa in overtime and then they came back today and beat Michigan 4-1, so Northwestern is coming in with two Big Ten wins. I know it was a battle between Northwestern and Penn State last year, and it came down to the final game to see who would come out on top as the Big Ten champion. I think it's going to be a real exciting game on Saturday."