UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; October 19, 2018 – The Penn State Nittany field hockey team (11-4, 6-2 B1G), ranked No. 6 in the latest NFHCA Coaches Poll, shut out visiting Indiana (4-12, 1-7 B1G) in the Big Ten regular season finale. Penn State got goals from four different players in a 4-0 shutout win over the Hoosiers at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex. The game was preceded by Senior Night activities as 12 Nittany Lions were honored before the game.
The teams traded possessions early with neither squad getting off a shot in the first few minutes. Indiana had a solid possession as the clock moved to 30:00 but Emily Klingler (Selinsgrove, Pa.) had a steal that ended the Hoosier press. The bulk of the first ten minutes was played in the midfield as the clock moved below the 250:00 mark. Lisa Winters (Hershey, Pa.) had a nice pass attempt with 24:30 but Indiana goalie Sachi Ananias was able to kick the ball away. Penn State was unable to get a shot off during a player advantage but once the teams were at equal strength, Penn State struck when Alexis Horst (Port Trevorton, Pa.) scored off a hard Katie Dembrowski (Palmyra, Pa.) assist with 21:39 left in the half.
Two minutes later, Penn State picked up the game's first corner after a solid Gini Bramley (Elizabethtown, Pa.) shot. But the Lions could not convert and the clock moved below the 18:00 mark with Penn State up 1-0. Indiana called a timeout with 14:00 on the clock, looking to set up on offense to try and tie the game up. But Penn State's defense, anchored by Cori Conley (Oak Park, Ill.) did not bend and Penn State regained possession. Aurelia Meijer (Hattam, Netherlands) drove the ball down field and fed Dembrowski, who made a slick pass to Abby Myers (Hartland, Wis.), who found the back of the cage to put Penn State up 2-0 at the 12:47 mark.
Penn State forced another corner with 7:00 left in the half but Anna Simon's (Hanau, Germany) shot was blocked. The teams traded possessions for a three minutes before the Lions picked up a third corner with 3:30 on the clock. Moira Putsch (Media, Pa.) took the corner, passed it to Madison Morano (Hammonton, N.J.) who set up Simon for a goal at the 3:05 mark to put the Lions up 3-0. Penn State had two more corners but Ananias was solid in the cage for Indiana and Penn State carried the 3-0 lead into halftime. Penn State outshot Indiana 11-0 in the first half and had a 5-0 corner advantage. Jenny Rizzo (Hershey, Pa.) faced no shots for the Lions while Ananias had five saves for Indiana.
Penn State come out in the second half and immediately worked the ball down to the Indiana side of the field, in front of new IU goalie Shelby Querry. The Lions forced a corner two minutes in but could not convert. The teams then traded possessions for the next eight minutes. Indiana had its best chance with 25:30 on the clock when a hard Taylor Swope shot was saved nicely by Rizzo. Indiana maintained possession and forced its first penalty corner of the game with 24:20 left in the game. Conley nicely blocked the shot and the Lions maintained their 3-0 lead.
Indiana took a player advantage after a Lion green card with 20:00 left to play but the Lions effectively killed the penalty and regained control of the ball with 18:00 on the clock. Indiana's defense stiffened and Penn State could not break through for a scoring opportunity. As the clock moved below the 15:00 mark, Indiana drove the ball downfield and picked up a corner with 13:20 on the clock. Rizzo made a diving save on a hot shot off the corner and the Lions continued to lead 3-0.
With under 10:00 to play, Penn State had a flurry of shots in front to the Indiana goal that Querry was able to push back on, notching a couple saves. But Penn State's pressure led to a penalty corner with 6:20 left to play. Simon took the corner, fed Bramley who tipped it to Meijer for the goal with 5:51 to play, giving the Lions a 4-0 lead. Senior Colleen Conway (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) entered the game with 4:23 left to play and immediately faced an Indiana corner. Conway made a nice diving save on a Hoosier shot to keep the Lion shutout alive with 3:15 to play in the game. Conway and the Lion defense would keep Indiana from scoring for the rest of the game and Penn State walked away with a 4-0 shutout win on Senior Night.
"I thought Indiana played very well, particularly on defense," said head coach Char Morett-Curtiss. "But we needed to be more focused on creating shots. We had good open field movement but we need to be more focused on attack. I was very happy to see this group of seniors go out with a good win in front of our fans and their families."
Penn State outshot Indiana 20-5 and had a 7-3 edge in penalty corners. Senior keepers Rizzo and Conway combined for the shutout. Rizzo had two saves and Conway had one. Ananias had five saves in the first half for IU while Querry had four in the second half.
The Nittany Lions are now 11-4, 6-2 in the Big Ten, while Indiana falls to 4-12, 1-7 B1G. Penn State closes out the regular season at home next Tuesday when it hosts Bucknell at the FH Complex in a 6 p.m. game.
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 (11-4, 6-2 B1G) 3 1 4
Indiana (4-12, 1-7 B1G) 0 0 0
STATS: PSU IU
Shots 20 5
Corners 7 3
SCORING SUMMARY (goal/assist) -- TIME
1st: PSU – Alexis Horst (Katie Dembrowski), 21:39
1st: PSU – Abby Myers (Dembrowski), 12:47
1st: PSU – Anna Simon (Madison Morano, Moira Putsch), 3:05
2nd: PSU – Aurelia Meijer (Gini Bramley, Simon), 5:51
GOALKEEPERS: MIN GA S
PSU: Jenny Rizzo 65:22 0 2
Colleen Conway 4:38 0 1
IU: Sachi Ananias 35:00 3 5
Shelby Querry 35:00 1 4
