UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- After months of practicing against one another, Penn State is excited to finally see some different competition on the other side of the field.
Following a scrimmage against Cincinnati at Holuba Hall last weekend, the Nittany Lions are set to hit the road and take on Towson in their season opener Saturday. Following an 8-9 finish a season ago, Penn State is looking to rebound and lean on a more experienced roster to a better result this season.
The scrimmage against Cincinnati was a great opportunity to begin putting everything the Nittany Lions practiced over the last few months into action. Junior captain Sophia Triandafils felt the scrimmage was important to get Penn State ready for the tough competition this season will offer.
"I think the scrimmage was very essential for us to build our confidence because we spend an entire preseason playing against each other," Triandafils said. "Having some other competition is really good and helps us build our confidence."
Senior Hayley DeAgostine joins Triandafils as team captain this season. The West Chester, Pennsylvania native feels Penn State did a good job of playing as a team, which can be hard to accomplish so early in the season.
DeAgostine added that she was glad Penn State didn't play down to the level of its opponent and that the Nittany Lions' practice showed throughout the game.
"We worked on a lot of things throughout practice leading up to that scrimmage," DeAgostine said. "I think it really showed throughout the entire game."
Head coach Missy Doherty is entering her 10th season at Penn State and the 2015 Big Ten Coach of the Year is excited to start the season as well. One of the things she was quick to point out is that Penn State is an older team this year as many of the younger players from last season are poised to take the next step this season.
To add to a maturing team, Doherty feels Penn State could be a lot more versatile than in years past.
"I think we have a lot of personnel this year," Doherty said. "I think we have a lot of people bringing different things, so it's a matter of trying to keep them organized into what we're going to need."
With an older team comes more responsibility. Many of the older players are going to be looked up to as leaders and many of the older players are going to be asked to take some of the freshmen under their wings. Another aspect that comes with an older team is how they respond when situations get tough.
"It's that buildup of leadership and togetherness," Doherty said. "We've been playing ourselves for so long, that you want to see in some of the stressful situations, how well we're able to stay organized both offensively and defensively."
Moving forward, Penn State faces the challenge of having to open the season away from Panzer Stadium. The Nittany Lions will head down to Towson with the hopes of getting their season off to a fast start.
One of the more difficult things about opening the season on the road is having to get back into the routine of being away from home after a long offseason.
"It's always hard getting on the bus and getting back in the swing of traveling," Triandafils said. "It is nice because we have a really good fan base. I think we're always really focused at away games because we're hype to play on someone else's turf but treat it like ours."
It's also a chance to increase team bonding, something a team may not get early in the season if they were playing at home. For Penn State, they'll get that opportunity right away.
"One of the good things about it is you have your team with you that entire day and a half," Doherty said. "It's great to be around each other and travel starts to build some team camaraderie. Being at another facility isn't always where you want to play your first game, but I think this team is a good unit together, so we're excited to take it on the road."
