UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Big Ten Network will be airing a past memorable win for the Penn State Nittany Lions at 9 p.m. tonight . It was the year 2015, on Penn State's home field as they fought against a rival, No. 5 Iowa. While the Nittany Lions were thrilled to pull out the 3-2 win, no one was more enthusiastic than Aurelia Meijer, who posted a hat trick.
Meijer was a freshman from Hattem, Netherlands and the first international player in PSU field hockey history and started in all 19 games her first year. She comes from a field hockey family, where her father played in the country's men's league and her grandfather played on the national team in the Netherlands.
Iowa kept Penn State alert as they were able to tie the score up with eight minutes remaining, but that didn't stop Meijer's momentum as she scored the last goal. Big Ten opponents like Iowa have been the most intense and physical games for Penn State. Head coach Charlene Morett-Curtiss remembered this game because of Meijer and her impressive game play that day.
"Aurelia's game-winning goal with no time left will always stay imbedded in my mind…her father flew in for the week from Holland, so he saw a special game," Morett-Curtiss said.
After the game, Meijer was interviewed by the Big Ten Network where she had the biggest smile on her face while talking about her three goals. Her voice was filled with a great amount of happiness and enthusiasm as she spoke about her love for playing for Penn State as well. So much so that players and fans still talk about the interview today.
"I love to play on this field, I love the fans...we have the best fans ever," Meijer said in her post-game interview.
The 2014 senior-led team had such a tight bond on and off the field it was a bit of a transition for the 2015 team that was a predominately young group with a lot of freshman starting. Penn State alum Katie Dembrowski has been keeping up with all the Penn State throwback games.
"Watching these games have been a blast this fall, taking me back to the glory days! The 2015 game against Iowa was such a thrilling game, I remember all the celebratory hugs that followed," Dembrowski said.
Stephanie Huessy, a senior from the 2015 season recalled that rivalry game where they had a total of 23 shots on goal to Iowa's six.
"It took a whole lot of resiliency and grit to win this game. We were a young team who weren't used to being on top and knowing how to control the tempo, but we knew how to play Penn State field hockey till the very last minute," Huessy said.
Penn State took the confidence from the win against Iowa and brought it to Illinois, where they defeated Northwestern, 3-2. It continued the streak, knocking Indiana out of the Big Ten Tournament and headed to the semifinals. The Nittany Lions' 2015 season ended with a tough loss the next weekend to No. 2 Michigan in overtime and finished the season with a record of 9-10.
"This year was a tough one for us, just because we were so young, but this game was a confidence booster for us, it showed us what we were capable of. Big wins like this one are something I miss everyday about playing college field hockey with such an amazing team and coaching staff," Dembrowski said.