Oct. 7, 2017
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| Buckeye Varsity Field | Columbus, Ohio | 135 |
COLUMBUS, Ohio - No. 5 Penn State (12-2, 4-1) outlasted a comeback effort by California (7-4) Saturday afternoon at Buckeye Varsity Field in a neutral site matchup that saw the Nittany Lions walk away with a 2-1 win. With the win, Penn State extends its all-time record to 5-1 vs. California dating back to 1980.
"It was a challenge for us physically with the quick turnaround from yesterday's game but I'm proud that we were able to get the win on the road and two wins total this weekend," said head coach Charlene Morett-Curtiss.
Shay Cannon opened the scoring for Penn State with a goal in the 17th-minute, unassisted, that gave the Nittany Lions a 1-0 lead that carried into the break.
Penn State dominated the opening half recording 10 shots to California's lone shot, as well as earning four penalty corners - four more than Cal.
The second half featured a resurgence in the California offense as the Golden Bears posted eight shots and earned five penalty corners.
Katie Dembrowski found Moira Putsch who finished the job finding the back of the cage for the score to give Penn State a two-goal lead in the 39th-minute.
Five minutes later, Cal cut the Nittany Lion lead to one as Femke Delissen gathered a rejected shot and scored off the rebound to give Cal a shot at tying things up with 26-minutes left in regulation.
The final 26-minutes weren't enough as the Nittany Lion defense used a solid effort to close out the game.
Penn State outshot Cal 18-9 and held the advantage in penalty corners at 7-5. Skyler Fretz also recorded two defensive saves in the match, her third of the weekend, that improves her season total to seven.
Penn State will return to action, Oct. 15 at 3 p.m. when the Nittany Lions takes on Maryland in their final Big Ten Network contest of the regular season.
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.
