Aug. 25, 2016
Parking
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State field hockey team officially opens the 2016 season at home against traditional season opening opponents Old Dominion and Virginia. Friday the Nittany Lions host No. 20 Old Dominion at 6 p.m., followed by a noon match against the No. 5 University of Virginia Cavaliers on Sunday afternoon.
GAMEDAY PROMOTIONS
Help welcome the Lions back home as they tak on the Old Dominion Lady Monarchs Friday, Aug. 26 at 6 p.m. A free hot dog and soda will be given to 100 students along with your chance to get your copy of the 2016 Penn State Field Hockey poster. Sunday will be family and kids day. Kids can create posters as well partake in face painting. Penn State cheerleaders and the Lionettes Dance Team will be in attendance as well a post game autograph session with the players. Fans can also enter Guess the Goal Contest, whoever comes closest to guessing the minute of the first goal of the game will win a prize.
CHEERING ON THE BLUE & WHITE
Penn State finished the 2015 season ranked No. 2 in average attendance in the nation, trailing only Temple. Penn State averaged 595 during the 2015 campaign.
B1G PLAYERS TO WATCH
Senior Kirsten Gochnauer and sophomores Aurelia Meijer and Jenny Rizzo were each named to the 2016 Big Ten Field Hockey Players to Watch List.
OPENING WEEKEND VS RANKED OPPONENTS
Penn State is 7-5 in their season openers with ODU and UVA dating back to 2010. Old Dominion and Virginia have also been ranked on opening weekends during that span with Penn State claiming wins over both Top-10 squads UVA (No.8) and ODU (No.3) during the 2012 seasonthat saw the Nittany Lions finish the season 18-4.
OLD DOMINION SERIES HISTORY
Penn State is 14-16 all-time in their series with the Monarchs dating back to 1982. Penn State lost to Old Dominion 2-1 in it's last meeting on Aug. 28, 2015 during the season opening weekend.
SCOUTING OLD DOMINION
- Returning 12 players from last season's roster, the Lady Monarchs welcome back two all-conference honorees in BIG EAST Rookie of the Year Chrissy Horn and second team all-conference selection Meg Byas. ODU also returns goalie Kealsie Robles, a 2015 Longstreth/NFHCA All-Region second team honoree, for her sophomore campaign.
- The team's leading-scorer in 2015, Danielle Grega returns for the Lady Monarchs to begin her junior season after netting 11 goals and adding one assist last year.
- The ODU field hockey team welcomes eight freshmen to the squad for the 2016 season.
- ODU's Meg Byas was named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team, earning the accolade in back-to-back seasons.
VIRGINIA SERIES HISTORY
Penn State is 16-7 all-time against the Calaliers in their series dating back to 1980. Penn State lost to Virginia 4-3 (OT) in it's last meeting on Aug. 30, 2015 during the season opening weekend.
SCOUTING VIRGINIA
- The Cavaliers finished the 2015 campaign with a 15-6 record, advancing to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. The squad, which only lost one player from last year's team to graduation, enters the season ranked No. 5 in the NFHCA preseason poll and selected to finish second in the ACC in a vote by the league's head coaches.
- Virginia has a pair of veteran strikers on the front line in seniors Riley Tata and Caleigh Foust. Tata comes into the season with 35 career goals while Foust has contributed 33 in her three previous seasons.
- Virginia also returns the goal-keeping tandem of sophomore Carrera Lucas and fifth-year senior Rebecca Holden. Holden has been pegged nationally as one of the top-five players to watch this season.
CHALLENGING SLATE
Penn State has again put together a top-tier schedule, facing eight teams that were ranked in the 2016 NFHCA Preseason Poll, including conference-foes Maryland (6), Michigan (10), and Northwestern (16). Along with the conference opponents, the squad also has matchups against Virginia (5), Wake Forest (7), Albany (9), Princeton (15) and Old Dominion (20). Six teams (Kent State, Princeton, Albany, Virginia, Michigan, Wake Forest) each made the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT ON BTN
Field hockey will have its penultimate home game against Maryland broadcasted on BTN live Sunday, Oct. 16 starting at 4:00 p.m. The crucial contest will be the Nittany Lion's third to last before the Big Ten tournament. Penn State's game at Michigan (Sept. 25) will also be streamed on BTN.
LEADERS OF THE PACK
Seniors Carly Celkos and Kirsten Gochnauer were named the captains for the 2016 season.
HOLLAND >> STATE COLLEGE
Sophomore Aurelia Meijer, the first international player in program history under head coach Charlene Morett-Curtiss, is joined by fellow Nederlander Bes Bovelander who becomes the second international player in program history. Bovlander, a freshman from Overveen, Netherlands, joins Penn State after finishing a decorated career at Kennemer Lyceum.
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
The Penn State field hockey team made an international trip this past spring to Holland for one week to partake in a cultural experience that will not soon be forgotten. The experience included the Nittany Lions playing a few games against international competition and local club teams that helped the Blue & White in their offseason preperation for this 2016 season. NCAA member institutions are limited to one international tour every four (4) years in each sport.
NFHCA PRESEASON RANKINGS
The Penn State field hockey team opens the 2016 season ranked No. 18 in the nation, per the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) preseason poll.
The North Carolina Tar Heels took the top spot in the NFHCA division I rankings with 915 total points, 17 ahead of the defending NCAA champion Syracuse.
The Nittany Lions are set to face eight of the teams from the NFHCA preseason Top-20 during the 2016 season.
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
Penn State enters the 2016 season with seven new faces in the Blue & White for the Nittany Lions. Freshman additions include: Bes Bovelander, Madison Hutson, Abby Myers, Sol Ortiz-Kreiner, Madison Morano, Kristiina Castagnola, Alexis Horst
POSTSEASON TRADITION
The Nittany Lions return after making the NCAA Tournament field five of the last six seasons. Penn State has been at the top of the Big Ten in those seasons as well, being named co-conference regular season champions in 2013 and the outright winner in 2012. The squad won the Big Ten Tournament in 2011 and 2012.
ON THE TURF AND IN THE CLASSROOM
The Penn State field hockey program had two student-athletes recognized by Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award. The list includes students from every institution and 38 different sports who have recorded a minimum grade-point average (GPA) of 3.7 or higher for the previous academic year.
Carly Celkos and Haley Kerstetter earned the accolade.
PARKING
Please note: Spectator parking is available free of charge after 5:00 p.m. Friday and all day on Sunday in the Stadium West parking lot. If you park in this lot before 5:00 p.m. Friday, please use the Pay Stations to pay for your parking. Please enter off of Park Avenue at the Stadium West traffic light. The Yellow parking lots at Wagner, Shields and Pegula closest to the Field Hockey Field are patrolled Monday thru Friday until 9:00 p.m.