UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; September 15, 2019 – The Penn State Nittany Lion field hockey team (0-5, 0-0 B1G), ranked No. 17 nationally, lost a hard-fought game at No. 5 Princeton (3-1) on Sunday. Penn State scored first but Princeton notched two second half goals to grab the close 2-1 win over the Nittany Lions.
Penn State was strong on offense to start the game, picking up a corner four minutes into the contest. But Princeton goalie Grace Bayliss and the Tiger defense kept the game scoreless early. Penn State had an early goal waved off following a corner and then the Nittany Lions withstood a first period penalty to keep the game tied at the end of one period of play. Each team had two corners in the opening period with the Tigers notching two shots off theirs.
Penn State opened up the second stanza with a goal just under five minutes into the period. Junior Abby Myers (Hartland, Wis.) scored at the 20:46 mark with an assist from freshman Paityn Wirth (Thompsontown, Pa.) to give the Lions a 1-0 lead, getting the deflection off a long pass into the circle for the score. The goal came on Penn State's first shot of the game and the score held to intermission.
Princeton outshot Penn State 4-1 but Myers connected on the lone Lion shot to give PSU the lead. Princeton had three corners to two for Penn State. Freshman goalie Brie Barraco (Allentown, Pa.) had three saves in the first half to keep Penn State on top. Princeton keeper Bayliss had no saves.
The Princeton offense was active early in the third period, getting off two more shots. Clara Roth connected at the 36:54 mark to tie the game on the second shot of the period. The Tigers continued to press the Penn State defense, reeling off a flurry of shots in the 43rd minute, but the Lion defense kept the game tied through the third period.
The two teams traded chances during the fourth period. Penn State had a chance on a penalty corner at the 8:00 mark but could not connect. Wirth had two shots knocked back by Princeton's Baylis in the 52nd and 53rd minute and the game oved to the final 7:00 still knotted at 1-1. The Tigers took their first lead of the game when Roth scored on a rebound after a penalty corner at the 56:37 mark to give Princeton a 2-1 lead with under 4:00 to play. The Tigers would hold that lead for the final minutes to claim the come-from-behind 2-1 win.
"We're disappointed with the outcome of the game but there are some things we can build on," said Morett-Curtiss. "We had a strong first half but, once again, we need to do a better job creating scoring opportunities. Turnovers in the second half really hurt us but we gave great effort today."
Princeton outshot Penn State 15-3 over the course of the game and had a 6-3 edge in penalty corners. Barraco had eight saves to two for Princeton's Bayliss to keep the game close throughout.
The Nittany Lions are now 0-5 while Princeton sits at 3-1. Penn State visits No. 4 Maryland on Friday, Sept. 20, in its Big Ten opener. The Lions' next home game is on Sunday, Sept. 29, when they host Villanova at 12 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.
GAME BREAKDOWN
SCORING: 1 2 3 4 FINAL
#17 PENN STATE (0-5) 0 1 0 0 1
#5 Princeton (3-1) 0 0 1 1 2
STATS: PSU PRI
Shots 3 15
Corners 3 6
SCORING SUMMARY (goal/assist) -- TIME
1st: PSU – Abby Myers (Paityn Wirth), 20:46
3rd: PRI – Clara Roth (unassisted), 36:54
4th: PRI – Clara Roth (unassisted), 56:37
GOALKEEPERS: MIN GA S
PSU: Brie Barraco 60:00 2 8
PRI: Grace Bayliss 60:00 1 2
