Sept. 14, 2017
Field Hockey Complex | University Park, Pa.
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 2 Penn State is set to open conference play against Big Ten foe No. 19 Iowa Friday, Sept. 15 at 5 p.m. ET at the Field Hockey Complex followed by a 1 p.m. ET matchup against No. 6 Delaware in a neutral site matchup at the Nook in Lancaster, Pa. Sun., Sept. 17.
IOWA SERIES HISTORY
Penn State trails 26-24-1 all-time in their series with the Hawkeyes dating back to 1981. Penn State is currently on a two-game winning streak vs. Iowa, downing the Hawkeyes on Big Ten Network on a penalty corner attempt with 0:00 on the clock back in 2015 followed by a 4-3 win on the road last season in Iowa City, Iowa.
SCOUTING IOWA
The Hawkeyes sit at 3-4 on the year earning back-to-back shutouts of California and UC-Davis while also splitting a weekend series with New Hampshire.
- Katie Birch leads the Hawkeyes in goals (9) as well as converting on two penalty strokes in 2017
- Makenna Grewe has recorded six assists this season that leads the Hawkeyes
DELAWARE SERIES HISTORY
Penn State is 15-5-2 all-time in their series with the Blue Hens dating back to 1976. Penn State shutout Delaware 5-0 in its last meeting on Sept. 20, 2013, at Field Hockey Complex in University Park.
SCOUTING DELAWARE
The Blue Hens are the reigning NCAA Champions with their win over North Carolina 3-2 last November in Virginia Beach, Va. Delaware this year has posted one win over a ranked opponent (No. 8 Princeton) currently standing at 5-1 on the season with a lone loss to No. 9 Louisville.
- With a 3-1 start to the year, the Blue Hens are ranked No. 6 in the latest Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division I Coaches Poll.
- Greta Nauck leads the Blue Hens in goals with seven on the year that and is currently ranked No. 5 nationally in goals per game averaging 1.17.
- Taylor Lister is the NCAA leader in assist per game currently contributing at a clip of 1.67 per contest. Her teammate, Kayla Devlin is currently ranked No.2 in the same category averaging 1.33 per game.
PENN STATE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Penn State (6-0) checked in at the No. 2 spot in the latest National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) poll, as released Tuesday morning.
UConn moved up one spot to take the No. 1 ranking with 1,129 points and 28 first-place votes, while Penn State inched up one place to come in at No. 2 with 1,083 points and 13 first-place votes.
Both the Huskies and Nittany Lions are off to 5-0 starts that feature four wins against ranked opponents.
Syracuse rises two places to No. 3 on the strength of a 7-0 start where the Orange have yet to allow a goal this season while No. 4 Duke and No. 5 Virginia fill out the top five.
The Nittany Lions at No. 2 are the highest-ranked Big Ten team in the poll ahead of No. 8 Michigan, No. 9 Maryland, No. 14 Northwestern, No. 19 Iowa, and T-No. 24 Rutgers.
ACTIVE CAREER LEADERS
A few Nittany Lions are among the best in the nation in their respective categories among active student-athletes, as well as a few that are rising in the Penn State laurels.
Moira Putsch
- Third-most total assists among active athletes (34), second most assists per game (0.69)
- Ranked No 12 in PSU history in assists
- Averages the sixth most points per game among active athletes (2.04)
- 16th-most assists among active athletes (21)
- Holds the seventh best GAA among active athletes (1.50)
WHAT A PERFORMANCE BY BRAMLEY!
What a week it was for Gini Bramley. The junior midfielder earned Big Ten Offensive player of the week honors as well as being named the National Offensive player of the week by NFHCA. Bramley joins Jen Beaumont (10/28/08), Allison Scola (10/14/08) and Jen Long (11/13/07) as the only other Nittany Lions to earn National Player of the Week honors. On top of the fantastic week (Aug. 25-27) on the field for the Elizabethtown, Pa. native, Bramley celebrated her birthday the same weekend, turning 20-years-old on Aug. 28.
BIG TEN ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
During 2017 two Nittany Lions have been selected as Big Ten Player of the Week, Respectively. Gini Bramley earned the distinction during the opening week of play while Jenny Rizzo earned the nod following shutouts against Temple and Wake Forest.
Offensive Player of the Week (8/28/17)
Gini Bramley, Penn State
M - Jr. - Elizabethtown, Pa. - Lower Dauphin
• Guided No. 7 Penn State to victories over No. 23 Old Dominion and No. 10 Virginia
•Scored two goals and added one assist against Old Dominion
•Scored two goals and tallied two assists in Penn State's, 4-2, win over Virginia
Defensive Player of the Week (9/5/17)
Jenny Rizzo, Penn State
GK - Jr. - Hershey, Pa. - Hershey
• Anchored a Penn State defense that defeated Temple, 5-0, and No. 15 Wake Forest, 6-0
• Posted two shutouts in Penn State's home opening weekend
• Recorded a season high nine saves
• Earns her second Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honor and her first of the season
• Last Penn State Defensive Player of the Week: Jenny Rizzo (Oct. 4, 2016)
CHEERING ON THE BLUE & WHITE
Penn State finished the 2016 season ranked No. 1 in average attendance in the nation. Penn State broke the Field Hockey Complex record with a total of 967 in attendance for a conference game against Maryland and was a part of the most attended game during the 2016 season as the Nittany Lions captured the Big Ten Tournament title against the very same Terrapins in College Park that was played in front of 969 fans.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT ON BTN
Penn State will play on BTN live Sunday, Oct. 15 starting at 3:00 p.m. as the Nittany Lions take on Maryland in College Park, Md. The crucial contest will be the Nittany Lion's third to last before the Big Ten tournament and is a re-match of last year's Big Ten Tournament Championship game that saw Penn State win its conference record seventh Big Ten tournament title. Penn State's game at Ohio State (Oct. 6) will also be streamed on BTN.
LEADERS OF THE PACK
Seniors Shay Cannon (16) and Skyler Fretz (11) were named the captains for the 2017 season.
GAMEDAY PARKING
Spectator parking is available free of charge after 4:00 p.m. Friday in the Stadium West parking lot. Please enter off of Park Avenue at the Stadium West traffic light. The Yellow parking lots at Wagner, Shields, and Pegula closest to the Field Hockey Field are patrolled Monday thru Friday until 9:00 p.m. Orange-F parking lot between Holuba and EALR is also available after 5:00 p.m. Friday. For more information, please visit www.parking.psu.edu.
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