Aug. 25, 2017
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| L.R. Hill Sports Complex | Norfolk, Va. | 487 | |
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NORFOLK, Va. - Penn State scored three unanswered goals in the second half of its first contest of the 2017 season to complete the comeback against No. 23 Old Dominion with a final score of 3-2 Friday night at L.R. Hill Sports Complex.
"We didn't play aggressively enough in the first half," said head coach Charlene Morett-Curtiss.
"We weren't able to dominate inside our attack 25, but I think coming out of halftime we played with more confidence and a speed of play that created more and more opportunities for us in the second half. I thought the defense did a really good job. I thought Cori Conley played a very steady game"
"The backs did a good job, everyone was around the ball in the second half, and it was really a great team effort."
It was a tale of two half's as Penn State (1-0) gave up two first half goals to ODU (0-1) and headed to the locker room trailing in goals, but leading in shots (7-4) and penalty corners (4-1).
A short rain delay extended halftime a little longer than expected but Penn State took no time erasing the goose egg on the scoreboard.
Gini Bramley, last season's Big Ten Tournament MVP, ended the scoring drought for the Nittany Lions with a shot from the middle of the circle to put Penn State on the board for the first time in 2017.
Bramley's goal was assisted by the 2016 NCAA leader in assist Moira Putsch.
Sophomore Maddie Morano tied the game up almost 20 minutes later when she converted on a penalty stroke in the 65th minute to knot the game at two apiece with five minutes left in regulation.
With a sense of urgency in the air, Putsch returned to the circle this time as the scorer running through the defense to score from the side of the cage and give the Nittany Lions their first lead of the game just two minutes after the Morano goal and with three minutes left in the game.
Penn State held on to take the game 3-2 and move to 1-0 on the season and 8-3 against Old Dominion over the last 11 years in season openers.
Penn State outshot Old Dominion 24-5 and held an advantage in penalty corners at 14-3. Jenny Rizzo played all 70 minutes in the cage making three saves on the night.
Penn State will be back in action Sunday, August 27 at 12 p.m. when the Nittany Lions take on Virginia in Charlottesville, Va. to wrap up its opening weekend.
For more on Nittany Lion Field Hockey, log onto www.GoPSUsports.com or follow the team on Twitter and Instagram at @PennStateFH, and on Facebook at PennStateFieldHockey.