UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. The Penn State Nittany Lion field hockey team (4-9, 3-2 B1G) took care of homestanding Michigan State (6-8, 0-5 B1G) in a Big Ten road game in East Lansing. The Nittany Lions led by one at the half and doubled that lead in the second half to roll to a 3-1 victory over the Spartans.
Penn State opened the game by taking control of the ball right away and moving the ball down into the Spartan circle and picking up a penalty corner less than a minute in to the game. Penn State's hard shot off the corner was blocked by Michigan State goalie Jade Arundell to keep the game scoreless early. Arundell made another save on a Penn State breakaway a minute later and the Spartans took control of the ball. Penn State was able to defend MSU's first venture into the Lion circle 5:00 into the opening period. Arundell made a good save on a nice shot by Meghan Reese (Coopersburg, Pa.) midway through the period to keep the game scoreless. The teams traded possessions in the middle of the field for the last half of the first period. Michigan State got off a close shot in the final minute by Lion keeper Brie Barraco (Allentown, Pa.) made a nice save against the first Spartan shot. Michigan State successfully defended a PSU corner in the final seconds and the game moved to the second stanza tied 0-0.
Michigan State forced a penalty corner early in the second period and Barraco was able to make saves on the initial shot and a subsequent rebound. The Spartans, picking up their pace on offense, had another fast break thwarted by the Lion defense and junior Madison Hutson (Gloucester Point, Va.). Penn State took advantage of an MSU defensive mistake less than five minutes into the second period. Freshman Paityn Wirth (Thompsontown, Pa.) stole an errant pass, made two nice moves and found the back of the cage for an unassisted goal to put Penn State up 1-0 just over 5:00 into the second period. The Nittany Lion defense fought off a Spartan advantage after a Lion green card minutes later. The Spartans picked up a penalty corner with 4:30 left in the period. Barraco and the Lion defense held firm on the corner and maintained the 1-0 lead. The Spartans continued to press and picked up another penalty corner with just 1:30 left in the half. But Barraco was up to the task, kicking the shot away. Spartan goalie Arundell made two saves on good Penn State shots in the final :20 and the Nittany Lions carried a 1-0 lead into the halftime break.
Penn State outshot Michigan State 7-5 and the Spartans owned a 3-2 edge in corners in the first half. Barraco and Arundell each had four saves in the opening 30:00 of play.
Penn State had an early shot by Wirth that the Spartans were able to defense and MSU responded with an offensive push that led to an MSU corner. The Spartans got off a nice shot but the effort went wide and the Nittany Lions continued to lead 1-0. Michigan State continued to control the ball and forced another corner, with Barraco once again making the save to keep the Nittany Lions out in front 5:00 into the third period. The Lions responded by taking control of the ball and driving it down field. Freshman Jemma Punch (McDowall, Australia) picked up a goal off an assist from Abby Myers (Hartland, Wis.) just under 7:00 into the period to put the Lions up 2-0. The Lions then defended a fast Spartan response to keep MSU off the scoreboard. Michigan State controlled the offense for the final minutes of the period but Penn State was able to keep the Spartans from scoring and led 2-0 heading to the fourth period.
The fourth period began with the teams trading possessions early on. The Nittany Lions then grabbed control and moved the ball into the Spartan circle. Michigan State was able to defend the Lion push as the fourth period clock moved below the 12:00 mark. Penn State was able to keep the ball on the Michigan State side of the field for the first half of the period, getting off a flurry of shots that Arundell was able to push aside to keep the game close. With under 8:00 left, Michigan State was finally able to move the ball down to the Penn State circle and picked up a penalty corner with 7:07 left on the clock. The Spartans took advantage of the opportunity with Aisha Osinga scoring unassisted after a scramble in front of the Lion goal with just under 6:00 on the clock. Leading by one, the Lion offense nearly connected on a penalty corner but the Spartans were able to keep the Lions from scoring. Penn State continued to control the ball and the Spartans were called for foul that resulted in a penalty stroke with just over 5:00 to play. Madison Morano (Hammonton, N.J.) knocked the penalty stroke past Arundell and the Nittany Lions led 3-1 just over 5:00 to play. The Nittany Lions were steady over the final 5:00 and went on to post the 3-1 road win.
"Michigan State just keeps getting better every time I see them play and this was one of their stronger efforts," said head coach Char Morett-Curtiss. "Both goalies played very well in the game and I was very happy for Maddie (Morano), as a captain, to come through on the penalty stroke to basically put the game out of reach."
Penn State outshot the Spartans 17-14 in the game and had one more penalty corner, 7-6. Lion keeper Barraco had a good outing, notching 8 saves. Spartan keeper Arundell also had eight for MSU.
The Nittany Lions are now 4-9 overall, 3-2 in the Big Ten, while Michigan State falls to 6-8, 0-5 Big Ten. Penn State will visit Michigan on Sunday, Oct. 20, for a 12 p.m. contest.
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
PENN STATE 0 1 1 1 3
Michigan State 0 0 0 1 1
STATS: PSU MSU
Shots 17 14
Corners 7 6
SCORING SUMMARY (goal/assist) – TIME
2nd: PSU – Paityn Wirth (unassisted), 20:09
3rd: PSU – Jemma Punch (Abby Myers), 36:52
4th: MSU – Aisha Osinga (unassisted), 53:12
4th: PSU – Madison Morano (penalty stroke), 54:56
GOALKEEPERS: MIN GA S
PSU: Brie Barraco 60:00 1 8
MSU: Jade Arundell 60:00 3 8
