UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Nittany Lion field hockey team (4-10, 3-3 B1G) had a late rally stymied at No. 9 Michigan (12-3, 5-1 B1G) in Big Ten play on Sunday. The Lions fell behind early and rallied in the second half but came up short in a 3-1 loss in Ann Arbor.
The games' first four minutes passed without either team entering the opposing circle. Freshman Elena Vos (Grave, The Netherlands) defended two different Michigan forays deep into the Lion side of the field to keep the game scoreless as the clock moved below the 9:00 mark. But Michigan continued to press the Lions and forced a penalty corner with just under 7:00 left in the opening stanza. The Wolverines then took a 1-0 lead when Emma Tamer scored off a penalty corner to put Michigan out in front. Penn State worked the ball down to the Michigan side of the field but the Wolverine defense was able to keep Penn State out of the circle. The Nittany Lions mounted a late sustained offense push in the final minute of the period but Michigan fought off the effort and the Lions trailed 1-0 after the opening stanza.
The Nittany Lions defended an early Michigan shot in the second period with goalie Brie Barraco (Allentown, Pa.) knocking back a Wolverine shot. But the home team got a penalty corner right after the Barraco save and converted the effort once again. Tamer notched her second goal off the game 2:11 into the second period to give Michigan a 2-0 lead. Barraco made a nice kick save on a third Michigan corner to keep Penn State close as the clock moved below the 10:00 mark of the second period. The teams battled evenly for the next four minutes. Penn State defended a Michigan foray into the circle and then, as the clock moved below the 3:00 mark, moved the ball down to the Michigan side of the field. The Lions maintained possession on the Wolverine side over the final few minutes of the half but could not break through the UM defense. Penn State trailed 2-0 at the break.
Michigan outshot Penn State 6-0 in the opening half and had a 3-0 corner advantage. Barraco had three saves in the opening half while Michigan's Anna Spieker had none.
The third period began with the two teams battling in the middle of the field. Penn State moved the ball briefly down to the Michigan side of the field but the Wolverines retook possession and pushed action down to the Lion circle. Michigan had a couple solid opportunities but the Nittany Lion defense was able to keep Michigan off goal and the Lions were able to stay close. Penn State pushed forward on a fast break and Emma Spisak (Havertown, Pa.) took a hard shot that Michigan keeper Spieker was able to make a diving save on. The Lions continued to press and picked up their first penalty corner seven minutes into the third period. Penn State got on the board on the corner with Bree Bednarski (Wyoming, Pa.) sending the corner in, Madison Morano (Hammonton, N.J.) setting the table and Anna Simon (Hanau, Germany) finishing off the corner by scoring with 7:59 left in the third period. Simon's goal cut the Wolverine lead to 2-1. Penn State successfully defended a Michigan corner at the 3:40 mark and spent the remainder of the period fighting off a strong Michigan offensive possession to trail by one at the end of three periods.
Penn State appeared to tie the game less than two minutes into the fourth period when Grace Wallis (Blue Bell, Pa.) scored on a driving fast break. But the officials called off the goal and, after review, confirmed the no goal call. The Lions did receive a penalty corner for Wallis' efforts but the fast Simon shot was just wide. Michigan upped its offensive pressure over the following minutes and forced Penn State to defend their own circle as the clock moved to the 10:00 mark. Michigan had a shot deflected at the 9:17 mark of the fourth period and then picked up a penalty corner less than a minute later but the Lion defense was up to the task. Trailing by one, Lion defender Madison Hutson (Gloucester Point, Va.) stole the ball and started a fast break that ended in the Wolverine circle, but Michigan forced Penn State into a turnover and a yellow card as the clock moved to 7:00. Michigan converted the advantage, forcing a penalty corner right away and converting on the effort. Kathryn Peterson scored on a deflection to give UM a 3-1 lead with 6:30 left to play. Michigan spent the final minutes of the game killing the clock and the Wolverines posted a hard-fought 3-1 win over the Nittany Lions.
"We really needed to do a better job with possession of the ball," said head coach Char Morett-Curtiss. "We were good defensively today but we turned the ball over when we got possession. Michigan is a good team and we needed to be more productive on attack."
Michigan outshot Penn State 13-3 over the course of the game and had a 6-2 advantage in penalty corners. Barraco had three saves for Penn State while Spieker had one for the Wolverines.
The Nittany Lions are now 4-10 overall and 3-3 in the Big Ten. Michigan improves to 12-3 overall, 5-1 in the Big Ten. Penn State will host Ohio State in its next outing, welcoming the Buckeyes to the Penn State Field Hockey Complex on Friday, Oct. 25, at 6 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
PENN STATE 0 0 1 0 1
Michigan 1 1 0 1 3
STATS: PSU MICH
Shots 3 13
Corners 2 6
SCORING SUMMARY (goal/assist) – TIME
1st: UM – Emma Tamer (G. Fernandez Lacort, Kathryn Peterson), 6:48
2nd: UM – Emma Tamer (G. Fernandez Lacort, Kathryn Peterson), 17:11
3rd: PSU – Anna Simon (Bree Bednarski, Madison Morano), 37:01
4th: UM – Kathryn Peterson (Kayla Reed), 53:24
GOALKEEPERS: MIN GA S
PSU: Brie Barraco 60:00 3 3
MICH: Anna Spieker 60:00 1 1
