Sept. 1, 2016
Bag Policy - Parking
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sept. 1, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State field hockey team is set to take on Temple and No. 9 Albany in their first road test of the season this weekend. Friday the Nittany Lions travel to Philadelphia for a 6 p.m. matchup with the Owls, followed by a 2:30 p.m. match against No. 9 Albany Sunday afternoon in a neutral match hosted by Lafayette College in Easton.
OPENING WEEKEND RECAP
Penn State is 2-0 for the 23rd time in program history dating back to 1964 when the Nittany Lions opened the season at 2-0 with back-to-back shutouts over Susquehanna and Bucknell. The Nittany Lions were the only team in the Big Ten to open the season at 2-0.
TEMPLE SERIES HISTORY
Penn State is 33-7-2 all-time in their series with the Owls dating back to 1977. Penn State captured their first win of the 2015 season with a 2-0 shutout in it's last meeting on Sept.4., 2015.
SCOUTING TEMPLE
- Coming off an 8-13 season and a second-straight appearance in the BIG EAST Championship game, Temple will have a new look in 2016 after the loss of 10 seniors to graduation.
- The team's leading-scorer in 2016 through two games is Maris Stern who notched a goal against Saint Joseph's in a 2-1 loss on thr road last week.
- Temple returns five of 11 starters from last season.
- Temple was picked to finish fourth of eight teams in the 2016 BIG EAST Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll.
A NEW HOME FOR THE OWLS
On Friday, Sept. 2, Temple field hockey will usher in a new era at the grand opening of Howarth Field.
Howarth Field is just the second permanent home in program history for Temple field hockey and lacrosse. Both teams formerly played at Geasey Field on the corner of 15th and Norris Streets. The land that includes Geasey Field was made into recreational fields in 1956, and the teams have played there ever since.
ALBANY SERIES HISTORY
Penn State is 1-0 all-time against the Great Danes in their series with their lone matchup coming back on Nov. 10, 2012 in the first round og the NCAA Tournament. Penn State beat Albany 2-1 in the NCAA Tournament in University Park, Pa. to advance to the 2012 NCAA Quarterfinals.
SCOUTING ALBANY
- The Great Danes finished the 2015 campaign with a 19-3 record, capturing the American East regular season and tournament championships, advancing to the First Round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Boston College 2-1 in Storrs, Conn.
The squad, which only lost three player from last year's team to graduation, enters the season ranked No. 9 in the NFHCA preseason poll.
UAlbany was unanimously predicted to win the conference's East Division in the 2016 season in the preseason coaches poll. It is the fourth straight season where UAlbany was picked #1 in the preseason poll.
- Maxi Primus, UAlbany's starting goalkeeper the past three seasons and the program's all-time wins leader with 55, stands with 190 saves in goal, just 10 away from 200. Her 190 saves ranks sixth all-time in UAlbany history.
- UAlbany sports four players from Germany, the most the team has had in one season. Paula Heuser and Maxi Primus have been starters for UAlbany each of the last three seasons at midfield and goalkeeper respectively while Frederike Helmke made the All-Rookie Team last season. Joining the team this season is Viola Von der Mühlen, a state champion in Germany in the U16 and U18 levels. The German players make up four of the team's five international student-athletes, rounded out by Megan Ma from Canada.
WHAT A WEEK FOR MOIRA
Junior forward Moira Putsch had quite an opening weekend for the Nittany Lions in her Penn State debut. Putsch, who transfered to Penn State following a season at Maryland that saw her capture the 2014 Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors, scored two goals and added two assist in her first game donning the blue and white against No. 20 Old Dominion.
The Media, Pa. native followed up Friday's performance by helping her team upset No. 5 Virginia at home providing a key assist on the second goal of the game en route to a 3-0 shutout of the Cavaliers.
Putsch earned Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors for her peformance this past weekend and also received merits from the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division I weekly award as an Honorable Mention.
CHALLENGING SCHEDULE
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.
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.
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 TURN 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.
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.