UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Nittany Lion field hockey team (7-5, 5-2 B1G) downed visiting Ohio State (4-8, 2-5 B1G) in the first of two weekend meetings. Head coach Char Morett-Curtiss' squad rode the strong play of goalie Brie Barraco (Allentown, Pa.) to a 2-1 victory at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex.
In instances where teams are scheduled to play each other twice during this year's Big Ten season, only the first game between the two squads is considered for the Big Ten regular season standings. Given that, today's game counts in both the conference and overall standings.
The Nittany Lions came out and scored quickly, looking to control the game from the onset. Five minutes into the game, freshman Sophia Gladieux (Boyertown, Pa.) took a great pass from senior Abby Myers (Harland, Wis.) to score just at the 9:35 mark, giving Penn State an early 1-0 lead. But the shot was the lone one for Penn State in the opening period and the Penn State defense needed to come up big for the remainder of the opening stanza. Senior Madison Hutson (Gloucester Point, Va.), sophomore Elena Vos (Grave, The Netherlands) and junior Meghan Reese (Coopersburg, Pa.) withstood Ohio State's pressure and Barraco made a save on one of two OSU shots. The Nittany Lions carried the 1-0 lead into the second period.
The second period was an evenly played session, with the Nittany Lions notching two shots to just one for Ohio State. But the Lions could not work the ball into the Buckeye circle to draw any penalty corners and OSU picked up the game's first corner (and the lone one of the first half) with 5:44 left in the period. Buckeye Mackenzie Allessie put the ball on the cage but Barraco notched another save to keep Penn State in front. The Nittany Lions nearly added a late goal in the period with Gladieux getting off a hard effort on the OSU goal but Buckeye Keeper Abby Danson made one of her two saves in the second period. Penn State led 1-0 at the halftime break.
Each team had three shots in the first half and both keepers had two saves. Ohio State had the only corner of the opening 30:00.
Ohio State came out in the third period and put consistent pressure on the Nittany Lions. The Buckeyes reeled off eight shots in the third period alone, thanks in large part to five penalty corners in the third stanza. Nevertheless, it was Penn State that scored the first goal of the third, with Emma Spisak (Boiling Springs, Pa.) taking a great pass from Grace Wallis (Blue Bell, Pa.) just over a minute into the half to give Penn State a 2-0 lead at the 13:58 mark. From that point on in the period, however, Ohio State's attack pressured the Nittany Lions until Delaney Lawler notched a goal with assists from Allessie and Lotte Algra, cutting Penn State's lead to 2-1 with 4:11 on the clock. Barraco continued to face pressure from the Buckeyes and had five saves in the third period alone.
Barraco stood tall in the goal over the final 15:00 as well as Ohio State reeled off five more shots, with the sophomore keeper grabbing two more saves. The Nittany Lions were able to maintain the 2-1 lead for the entirety of the final period despite Ohio State winning the ball possession game. The Buckeyes pulled their goalie with just over 3:00 left to play but the Nittany Lions kept the visitors from finding the goal and Penn State held on for a hard-fought 2-1 victory.
Ohio State outshot the Nittany Lions 16-6 and had eight penalty corners to none for Penn State. Barraco collected nine saves in the contest while Danson had three for Ohio State.
"I give a lot of credit to Ohio State, I thought they came out with a great game plan," said Morett-Curtiss. "They put a lot of pressure on us in the second half and credit to Brie Barraco and our defense. They held their own and really played outstanding today, they kept us in the game."
Penn State is now 7-5 overall and ends the conference slate with a 5-2 record. Ohio State falls to 4-8 overall, 2-5 in the conference. The two teams play again tomorrow, Saturday, April 17, at 3 p.m. in the final regular season game for both teams.
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 1 0 1 0 2
OHIO STATE 0 0 1 0 1
STATS: PSU OSU
Shots 6 16
Corners 0 8
SCORING SUMMARY (goal/assist) – TIME
1st: TEAM – Name (assist); 0:00
1st: PSU – Sophia Gladieux (Abby Myers); 9:35
3rd: PSU – Emma Spisak (Grace Wallis); 13:58
3rd: OSU – Delaney Lawler (Mackenzie Allessie, Lotte Algra); 4:11
GOALKEEPERS: MIN GA S
PSU: Brie Barraco 60:00 1 9
OSU: Abby Danson 56:49 2 3
Team 3:11 0 0
