Feb. 11, 2017
By Ryan Berti, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - One of the most important things practice can do for a team is help set up a game-like simulation of live action, preparing the players for potential problems they might have during an actual game in real time. Practice can usually do so much, while scrimmages are as close as it gets to the real thing. Penn State though, did not get that scrimmage luxury, as it instead opened up the season with an eager opponent.
In a new year with a new team, having to face new challenges left behind by those who had graduated and moved on, it can be sometimes hard to gage exactly how a team is going to fare right out of the gate.
"We didn't have any scrimmages this year, we started off with games, so you're a little curious how the team will come in against some good competition," head coach Missy Doherty said.
A level of uncertainty was there for the team, being untested in the offseason other than by their own merits. It was still to be proven how well the team would perform after the first whistle. But, shortly after it blew, there was little doubt left in how the team would come out of the gate.
The season could not have got off to a better start. In the midst of a game that showed the Nittany Lions offense in full force, three of the team's starters tie career-highs in goals en route to a 20-9 victory over Albany. Among the calamitous crew were Steph Lazo, Madison Carter and Katie O'Donnell.
Lazo's performance, one that featured a team-high 12 points, set a career benchmark for her as she matched her career-best numbers in both goals (5) and assists (7). Her big day earned her the honor of Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week.
The reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Carter, padded onto that with a barrage of her own. She led the team in goals with six and added an assist, picking up right where she left off as one of the teams most reliable scorers.
Junior midfielder O'Donnell fueled the fire with five goals, which included a series of three-consecutive scores. Once again, she scored double digit goals for her squad, which was something she was able to do over 70 percent of the time last season.
The team may have entered the season's first contest with some questions, but the group seemingly answered all of them with their incredible output on the offensive end. Erika Spilker said that with a game under the team's belt, moving forward things should only continue to improve as players get more experience against competition.
"I think for the whole team on any first game of the season, you're excited but it's all the nervousness and you're thinking 'what's gonna happen?' And 'how are we gonna play?' But I think throughout the rest of the season, the jitters turn into a little more like game excitement rather than nervousness, so I think it's good to get that out of the way," Spilker said.
Now Penn State moves forward in the season with a slate of opponents looking to find a weakness and expose it to take down one of the best teams in the country. With usually high levels of nervousness, most season openers give the opposition something to look at. But for the Nittany Lions, who opened the season firing on all cylinders, challengers are going to have to wait until they meet them on the field to try and stop a powerful team that's already rolling with momentum.