Sept. 9, 2016
Bag Policy - Parking
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State field hockey team welcomes in state rivals Lock Haven and Bucknell to University Park for Sunday and Tuesday matchups. The Nittany Lions will take on the Bald Eagles Sun., Sept. 11 at noon and face the Bison Tue., Sept. 13 at 7 p.m.
WEEKEND RECAP
Penn State is 4-0 for the first time since 2003, following weekend wins over Temple and No. 9 Albany on the road. The Nittany Lions downed Temple 8-1 during the grand opening of Howarth Field before traveling to Easton, Pa. for a neutral game against the No. 9 UAlbany Great Danes. Penn State is the lone Big Ten team to sport an unblemished record through four games.
Penn State field hockey has started a season 5-0 on five different occasions (`81,'84, `93, `99, `02) and started a season 6-0 twice. The Nittany Lions began the 1993 season 15-0 before dropping a match 3-0 to Iowa on the road and began the 2002 season 7-0 before falling on the road to Michigan State by the same score 3-0.
LOCK HAVEN SERIES HISTORY
Penn State is 19-15-1 all-time in their series with the Bald Eagles dating back to 1964. Penn State dropped a game to Lock Haven for the first time in 30 years during the 2015 season with a 1-0 shutout in its last meeting on Oct.11, 2015.
SCOUTING LOCK HAVEN
• The Bald Eagles are off to a red-hot 2-0 start and the offense has been the big story so far. In each of the first two games, LHU scored eight goals in lopsided wins over Sacred Heart (W, 8-1) and Towson (W, 8-0). The defense has been up to the task as well and allowed just one goal in 140 minutes of play. In the win over Towson, LHU allowed just one shot.
• Sunday marks the 44th meeting between LHU and PSU with less than 40 miles separating the central Pennsylvania Division I field hockey powers. Last season, LHU beat Penn State 1-0 for The Haven's first win over the Nittany Lions in 30 years. LHU leads the all-time series 22-18-3.
• The back-to-back eight goals games to start the 2016 season mark the most for LHU in a single game since Lock Haven beat Towson 7-0 on September 6, 2014.
• Dana-Lee De Gannes leads the eagles in scoring this season with three goals and one assist on the year.
BUCKNELL SERIES HISTORY
Penn State is 38-2-2 all-time against the Bison in their series dating back to 1964. Penn State beat Bucknell 3-1 in their 2015 matchup in Lewisburg.
SCOUTING BUCKNELL
• Bucknell is 1-2 on the season, claiming a win over Rutgers 2-0 (Aug.26) and falling to St. Joseph's (Pa.) 4-0 (Sept.2) and Princeton 5-2 (Sept.4). The Bison also played an exhibition game against York (Toronto) downing the Lions 1-0.
• Sunday marks the 43rd meeting between Bucknell and PSU. Last season, Penn State beat Bucknell 3-1 at Penn State field hockey complex. PSU leads the all-time series 38-2-2.
• Brittany Willwerth leads the squad with two goals through three games recording a team high shooting percentage of .286 for the Bison.
• Bucknell seniors Amy Mucelli and Anna Wills were voted to the Preseason All-Patriot League Field Hockey Team.
• Hannah Allison is set to begin her second season as an assistant coach at Bucknell. A 2013 graduate of Penn State with a degree in kinesiology, Allison was a four-year letter winner for the Nittany Lions and a team captain her senior season under current head coach Charlene Morett-Curtiss. She was a part of two Big Ten championship teams and was a recipient of the Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award during her days as a Nittany Lion.
NFHCA RANKINGS
The biggest mover in the Sept. 6 NFHCA poll was No. 5 Penn State, which rose 13 spots from the preseason rankings after starting the year 4-0 with three wins over top-20 opponents. The Nittany Lions have defeated then-No. 20 Old Dominion, No. 5 Virginia and No. 9 Albany while opening a season at 4-0 for the first time since 2003.
Penn State is currently top-five in the nation in several key categories including No. 4 in the nation in goals per game (5.00), scoring average (5.00), scoring margin (4.00), No.5 in penalty corners (10.00), and points per game (13.75).
Defending NCAA champion Syracuse nabbed the top spot with 25 first-place votes over new No. 2 Duke and No. 3 North Carolina who fell two spots from the preseason poll.
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, and 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.
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.
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.
Penn State field hockey is on social media. Follow the program on Facebook (www.facebook.com/PennStateFieldHockey) and Twitter/Instagram @PennStateFH. For all of your Penn State news, visit www.GoPSUsports.com