Sept. 23, 2014
| 5 | 1 |
| Field Hockey Complex| University Park, Pa. | 282 | |
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Behind a two goals apiece from seniors Amanda Dinunzio (State College, Pa.) and Taylor Herold (Fredericksburg, Va.), the No. 7 Penn State field hockey team defeated Lock Haven, 5-1, at the Field Hockey Complex Tuesday night. Herold added an assist for five points on the night.
"The first half, Lock Haven was doing a great job double and triple teaming in the corner," said head coach Charlene Morett-Curtiss. "We had much better movement into the circle by bringing the ball back to the center. I thought that opened up the circle a lot more and gave us more opportunities. I think we just were diligent about drawing the corner."
The Nittany Lions improved to 6-2 on the season, while the Lady Eagles moved to 6-2. Penn State held Lock Haven to just two shots in the game and only one on goal. The squad also posted a season-high 16 penalty corners, holding the visitors to just one.
The Nittany Lions earned a pair of corners early in the first half. On the second attempt, sophomore Emilee Ehret (Philadelphia, Pa.) inserted to Herold, who fired the ball towards goal from the top of the circle. Herold's pass found Dinunzio's stick and she tipped it in. Penn State was up 1-0 just 4:39 into the contest.
Ehret found the back of the net with 12:16 to go in the opening half. She grabbed a loose ball after inserting on a penalty corner and ripped one into the cage, lifting the score to 2-0.
Less than a minute after the second Nittany Lion goal, Lock Haven was awarded a penalty stroke. Lady Eagle Taylor Kennedy put a shot past redshirt senior goalkeeper Kylie Licata (Mountain Top, Pa.) getting Lock Haven on the board with 11:23 left in the first period.
The Nittany Lions held the Lady Eagles to just one shot in the first half, the penalty stroke, and no corner attempts. The scored remained 2-1 at the half.
Penn State opened the second half with three consecutive corners. After the Nittany Lions failed to find the back of the net on the first two opportunities, Ehret's insert found senior Laura Gebhart (Mount Joy, Pa.). Gebhart passed the ball to Herold at the top of the circle, who then drove the ball into the back of the cage, lifting Penn State to a 3-1 lead with 32:17 remaining in the second stanza.
The Nittany Lions capitalized on another scoring opportunity just more than seven minutes later when senior Casey Haegele (Warrington, Pa.) put a pass in front of the cage along the endline that connected with Herold, who scored for the second time in the contest. Penn State led, 4-1.
The final score of the night came again from Dinunzio, who poked in a rebound following a penalty corner shot, lifting the score to 5-1.
Penn State is next in action on the road taking on Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich., on Friday, Sept 26 (4 p.m.), before visiting Ohio State on Sunday, Sept. 28 (1 p.m.). The games mark the first conference road matches of the season for the Nittany Lions.