Final Stats | PHOTO GALLERY II
| 6 | 2 |
| PSU Field Hockey Complex | University Park, Pa.| 738 | |
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State field hockey opens the 2016 season with a 6-2 win against Old Dominion University Friday night at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex.
"I think we were really nervous," said head coach Charlene Morett-Curtiss.
"It's the home opener, there are a lot of fresh faces out there and I think we just needed to settle down and just play our game. I thought we were very tentative in our passing. Once we became more confident in our passing, then you can see us starting to possess the ball longer and that rolled over into our goals."
After trailing 2-1, Penn State (1-0) finished on a 5-0 run with five different players finding the cage. Donning the blue and white for the first time after a redshirt season last year, Moira Putsch (Media, Pa.) led the group with two goals and an assist. Brooke Birosik (Ickesburg, Pa) and Kirsten Gochnauer (Mount Joy, Pa) had one goal and one assist while Mary Neil Smith (Dauphin, Pa) and Gini Bramley (Elizabethtown, Pa) both had one goal apiece.
Old Dominion (0-1) managed just four shots, three of which were on goal.
Old Dominion's Danielle Grega was able to find her way to the goal early in the game as she scored in the 2nd minute.
The 16th minute saw Putsch dribble in from the right side to find a clean shot, tying up the game.
Grega was able to answer Putsch back with a 10-yard shot from the left side of the goal.
Smith would net her second career goal on a second attempt by the Nittany Lions, as Carly Celkos' (Berlin, NJ) initial attempt deflected off the ODU goalie, in perfect position for Smith to net the goal.
The teams were tied at two goals apiece heading into the second half before Bramley gave the Lions their first lead in the 39th minute with a shot from the left side with help from Putsch.
On a penalty corner insert from Putsch in the 43rd minute, Birosik was able to work off of Gochnauer's assist to give the Lions a 4-2 advantage.
Leading 4-2, Gochnauer would net her own goal finding a clear path to the goal to place the ball in the back of the cage adding to the Nittany Lion lead.
A minute later Putsch, with an assist from Birosik, was able to give the Lions their sixth and final goal of the game.
Penn State dominated the Monarchs on the offensive side of the ball, attempting 14 shots to Old Dominions four and earning four penalty corners compared to one penalty corner by Old Dominion.
The Nittany Lions return to Field Hockey Complex Sunday at 12 p.m. when the No. 5 Cavaliers come to town to wrap up opening Weekend action.