UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; September 16, 2018 – The Penn State Nittany field hockey team (5-2, 1-0 B1G), ranked No. 6 in the NFHCA Coaches Poll, shutout No. 21 Boston University (5-3) in a key non-conference match-up between top ranked squads. The Nittany Lions used two goals from sophomore Alexis Horst (Port Trevorton, Pa.) to roll to a 4-0 win in the game played at the University of Maryland on Sunday afternoon.
The Nittany Lions picked up their first penalty corner less than five minutes into the game but could not connect to take the early lead. Boston University tried to counter after Penn State's corner but the Lion midfield and defense were able to control possession and keep the Terriers from mounting a push. Boston managed to work the ball down to the Lion circle at the 25:00 mark, but Lion defender Cori Conley (Oak Park, Ill.) stole the ball, pushed it to midfielder Cassie Kline (Millersville, Pa.) and Penn State worked its way to another corner at the 24:00 mark. Another missed chance on the corner led to a Boston possession, but over 10:00 into the contest and Penn State had established tempo and momentum.
Penn State's early dominance paid off when senior Moira Putsch (Media, Pa.) finished off a nifty move to the right of the Boston cage, taking a long pass from middie Aurelia Meijer (Hattam, Netherlands) and finding the back of the cage to put Penn State up 1-0 at the 22:50 mark. Boston responded with its first solid offensive push of the match, forcing the Lion defense to respond with a block on short BU shot. The Terriers continued to maintain possession and picked up their first penalty corner at the 18:00 mark. Boston's Ally Hammel took two good shots, the second a blistering shot at the upper right corner of the cage. But Penn State goalie Jenny Rizzo (Hershey, Pa.) saved both, including an outstanding reach on the second Hammel effort.
Boston managed to turn momentum in its favor with the lengthy possession midway through the opening half. Penn State broke up the Terrier offense briefly but Boston was able to regain the ball and continued to press the Lion backfield down under the 15:00 mark. Penn State had a short chance to score a second goal at the 11:00 mark, but Boston goalie Kathleen Keegan pushed the shot aside and Boston moved the ball back down to the Penn State end of the field as the clock moved to the 10:00 mark. Penn State was able regain possession with 9:00 left in the half with Anna Simon (Hanau, Germany) working the ball down the left side of the field, sending a cross to the right, only to see the ball roll out of bounds.
Penn State regained control of the game for the final minutes of the opening half, keeping the ball in the Boston backfield and picking up its third corner of the game with 4:00 on the clock. A fourth corner came seconds later. Putsch took the corner and the ball ended up on Anna Simon's stick. Simon passed once, the ball shifted to the left to senior Katie Dembrowksi (Palmyra, Pa.) who got the ball back to Simon mid-circle. The Lion true freshman put Penn State up 2-0 with a sizzling shot from the top of the circle at the 3:59 mark. Horst then picked up a loose ball in front of the BU cage and scored the first of her two goals just over a minute later, giving Penn State a 3-0 lead at the 2:47 mark, a lead Penn State would carry into the halftime break.
Penn State outshot Boston 8-4 in the opening 35:00, including a 6-2 on goal edge. The Lions had a 5-2 corner advantage as well. Rizzo had two saves for Penn State while Keegan had three for the Terriers.
The second half began with Penn State pressing BU once again as Putsch controlled the action around the Boston goal early. But the Terriers regained possession and picked up a couple corners that Rizzo was able to defend, keeping the Lions up by three. The game was played in front of the Penn State goal for the next few minutes but the Nittany Lions were able to regain possession, and momentum, as the clock moved below the 25:00 mark. Penn State took a penalty corner after a nice push and Horst scored her second goal of the game, once again off a loose ball after the corner, and Penn State led 4-0 with 24:00 to play.
Boston took a corner at the 19:00 mark that Rizzo and the Lion corner defense easily took care of. Penn State then took possession and worked the ball down to the Boston side of the field as the clock worked its way to the 15:00 mark. The Nittany Lions were turned away on a penalty corner at the 15:57 mark but retained possession. Boston was able to defend a brief Lion push and the next five-plus minutes saw action alternate between the two teams until Boston nearly scored with 11:00 to play. Ailsa Connolly had a point-blank shot that Rizzo saved to keep the Lion shutout intact.
Penn State countered with a penalty corner at the 8:50 mark, but the shot went wide and BU regained possession. The teams played evenly for the next three-minutes before Penn State got another penalty corner with just under 4:00 to play but the Lion shot went wide left. Another corner just seconds later was stopped after a diving Keegan save, leading to a third corner in the flurry with just over 3:00 on the clock. Keegan notched another save but Penn State retained possession and kept the ball in the Boston backfield for the final minutes. The late-game control allowed Penn State to walk away with the 4-0 shutout victory.
"We had a great start to the game and if you look at the goals in the first half, we scored off some high quality shots," said head coach Char Morett-Curtiss. "I thought we had some very good opportunities in the second half that we didn't take advantage of, but our defense was good and Jenny (Rizzo) did a great job getting the shutout. I'm very happy for the girls because they had a successful weekend. Now we have to come home and get refocused for an important Big Ten weekend."
The Nittany Lions outshot Boston 12-10 on the day and had an 11-5 edge in penalty corners. Penn State goalie Rizzo had five saves while Keegan had six for the Terriers.
The Nittany Lions move to 5-2 on the year while Boston falls to 5-3. Penn State hosts two Big Ten foes next weekend. The Nittany Lions host Michigan on Friday, Sept. 21, in a 6 p.m. game and Michigan State on Sunday, Sept. 23, at 12 p.m. Both games are at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex.
Fans are encouraged to follow the Nittany Lion field hockey team online at www.GoPSUsports.com (click teams, click field hockey), on twitter @pennstateFH and on facebook at www.facebook.com/pennstatefieldhockey.
GAME BREAKDOWN
SCORING: 1 2 FINAL
#6 Penn State (5-2, 1-0 B1G) 3 1 0
#21 Boston U. (5-3) 0 0 0
STATS: PSU BU
Shots 12 10
Corners 11 5
SCORING SUMMARY (assist) -- TIME
1st: PSU – Moira Putsch (Aurelia Meijer), 22:50
1st: PSU – Anna Simon (Katie Dembrowski), 3:59
1st: PSU – Alexis Horst (unassisted), 2:47
2nd: PSU – Horst (unassisted), 24:01
GOALKEEPERS: MIN GA S
PSU: Jenny Rizzo 70:00 0 5
BU: Kathleen Keegan 70:00 4 6
