THIS WEEK'S ACTION
#6 Penn State (2-0, 0-0 B1G)
Penn State Head Coach: Char Morett-Curtiss
On Tuesday...
vs. #10 Princeton (1-1), 9/4/18 - 7:30 p.m.
Princeton Head Coach: Marybeth Freeman
All-Time Series w/ Princeton: Penn State leads 27-10-0
Last Meeting: W, 2-0 at Princeton on 9/10/17
On Friday...
vs. Kent State (1-3), 9/7/18 - 4 p.m.
Kent State Head Coach: Kathleen Wiler
All-Time Series w/ Kent State: Penn State leads 4-0-0
Last Meeting: W, 5-3 at KSU on 10/1/17
On Sunday...
vs. #3 Duke (3-1) at Temple, 9/9/18 - 10:30 a.m.
Duke Head Coach: Pam Bustin
All-Time Series w/ Duke: Penn State leads 6-1-0
Last Meeting: W, 2-1 at Duke on 9/17/11
THIS WEEK'S PREVIEW
The Penn State Nittany Lions (2-0, 0-0 B1G), ranked No. 6 in the NFHCA Coaches Poll, face a busy and challenging schedule this week. The Nittany Lions play three games in five days, including two versus ranked opponents. Penn State hosts No. 10 Princeton (1-1) on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., host Kent State (1-3) on Friday at 4 p.m., then face off against No. 3 Duke (3-1) on Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. in a game played at Temple University.
Penn State is coming off a rousing 4-0 win at Temple on Friday in a game that saw the Nittany Lions outshoot the Owls 42-1. True freshman Anna Simon led Penn State with two goals, her first as a collegian, in the victory. Jenny Rizzo faced only one shot to pick up her second shutout of the season.
The Nittany Lions are being led by Simon's four points off two goals. Aurelia Meijer, Gini Bramley and Emily Klingler all have a goal apiece while Madison Morano and Mary Nell Smith each have two assists. Meijer leads Penn State with 13 shots, nine on goal. Rizzo has a 1.00 save percentage as the Lion defense has held its opponents to a combined 10 shots. Cori Conley and Simon have anchored the defense through the early part of the season.
Princeton enters the week with a 1-1 record. The Tigers, ranked No. 10 in the NFHCA poll, are coming off a split weekend that saw them drop a 1-0 game to No. 2 North Carolina on Friday and down No. 14 Wake Forest 4-0 on Sunday in games played in Philadelphia. Clara Roth leads Princeton with three points off a goal and an assists while keeper Grace Bayliss has a 0.64 goals against average and an .875 save percentage.
Kent State heads into Friday's game with a 1-3 mark. The Golden Flashes lost 2-1 to Liberty on Friday but rebounded with a 1-0 victory over St. Louis on Sunday. Both games were at home for KSU. Rodriguez seto Clara leads Kent State with six points off three goals while goalie Mary Crumlish sports a 1.47 GAA with a .769 save percentage.
Duke, ranked No. 3 in the NFHCA's preseason poll, is 3-1 on the year. The Blue Devils went 1-1 last weekend, downing Northwestern 4-0 on Friday before losing a tough 4-3 game to No. 4 Maryland on Sunday. Rose Tynan (three goals, two assists) and Olivia Sahaydak (four goals) lead Duke with eight points each while keeper Sammi Steele has a 1.75 GAA with a .632 save percentage. Duke is at No. 10 Princeton Friday night.
The Nittany Lions own a 27-10-0 lead in the series with Princeton, including a 2-0 road win last year on 9/10/17. Penn State is 4-0-0 all-time against Kent State, including a 5-3 win at KSU last season on 10/1/17. The Lions are 6-1-0 all-time against the Blue Devils, including a 2-1 win in the last meeting, 9/17/11 at Duke.
The Nittany Lions open up Big Ten play next weekend, visiting Ohio State on Friday, Sept. 14, at 4 p.m. The Lions then take on Boston University at the University of Maryland on Sunday, Sept. 16, at 1 p.m.
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.
For gameday parking information, please check out the color graphic within the pdf posted online in every set of weekly game notes at GoPSUsports.com.
NOTES
SIMON LEADS LIONS TO 4-0 WIN AT TEMPLE
True freshman Anna Simon scored her first collegiate goals to lead Penn State to a 4-0 win at Temple on 8/31. Simon found the back of the cage twice off penalty corners (assists to Mary Nell Smith and Madison Morano on both) to spark Penn State. The Lions outshot Temple 42-1 in the victory.
CONLEY, BRAMLEY SPARK LIONS TO 1-0 WIN OVER #7 VIRGINIA
Seniors Cori Conley and Gini Bramley sparked Penn State to an impressive 1-0 win over No. 7 Virginia in the season opener for both teams on 8/26. Conley anchored a strong Penn State defense and classmate Jenny Rizzo notched four saves as Penn State shutout the Cavaliers. The shutout was the ninth of Rizzo's career. Bramley scored the game's lone goal off an assist from Abby Myers as Penn State outshot Virginia 17-9.
CONLEY B1G PLAYER OF THE WEEK (8/27)
Senior Cori Conley as named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for the week ending Aug. 26, 2018. Conley anchored a smothering Penn State defense that held a high-powered Virginia offense scoreless and to only nine total shots. Conley's prowess in the middle of Penn State's defense kept the Cavaliers from pressing the Lion cage and lead Penn State to a 1-0 shutout win in the season opener over No. 7 Virginia. Conley played nearly the entire game for a Penn State defense that kept the Cavs scoreless in a national field hockey showdown to start the 2018 season. The victory has Penn State off to a 1-0 start to begin the campaign
TRIO OF NITTANY LIONS ON BIG TEN PRESEASON 'PLAYERS TO WATCH' LIST
A trio of Penn Staters are on the 2018 Big Ten Preseason 'Players to Watch' list. Seniors Gini Bramley, Colleen Conway and Jenny Rizzo are all included on the conference-compiled list to open the campaign. All three were named to the 2018 U.S. Developmental Team this summer and are coming off outstanding 2017 seasons for the Nittany Lions. Rizzo was a first team All-Region and second team All-Big Ten selection while Bramley and Conley were second team All-Region selections.
BTN AND LIONVISION HAVE HOME SLATE COVERED
Penn State's nine home games will be available for fans all over the world to see. Eight of Penn State's nine home contests (Virginia, Princeton, Kent State, Michigan, Michigan State, James Madison, Indiana and Bucknell) will be streamed live for free via Lionvision at GoPSUsports.com. Penn State's Oct. 7 battle with Maryland will air live on the Big Ten Network.
TEAMMATES VOTE RIZZO AND DEMBROWSKI TEAM CAPTAINS
Seniors Jenny Rizzo and Katie Dembrowski will serve as team captains for the 2018 season. The duo earned the honors in a vote by their teammates during preseason practices.
