UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Nittany Lion field hockey team (6-1, 1-1 B1G), ranked No. 6 in the NFHCA Coaches Poll, lost a close game in its Big Ten road opener at No. 2 Iowa (9-0, 2-0 B1G) in Iowa City. Penn State lost 1-0 in the first of two games in Iowa City this weekend (this game counts in the conference standings as it is a regularly scheduled conference game).
The teams traded possessions over the course of the first three minutes. Iowa had two possessions go deep into the Penn State side of the field, with both efforts ending with the ball rolling across the end line. Penn State gained control of the ball and worked it downfield into the Iowa circle. Jemma Punch (McDowall, Australia) had a first shot blocked by Iowa keeper Grace McGuire and a rebound shot slide just wide. Mackenzie Allessie (Mount Joy, Pa.) also had an early shot sail wide seconds later. Annika Urbine had a shot blocked at the 6:30 mark in the first half in Iowa's first real press on the cage. Maddy Murphy's shot at the 3:45 mark was just wide for Iowa. A late Ellie Holley shot was saved by Penn State keeper Brie Barraco (Allentown, Pa.) and the game moved to the second period tied 0-0.
Two minutes into the second period, the Lion defense looked to let an Iowa shot from outside the circle go wide but the ball hit the post and darted back into play. The Lion defense, led by Elena Vos (Grave, The Netherlands) pushed the ball out. Iowa kept possession, with Esme Gibson taking a shot that was blocked right in front of the cage with 12:00 left in the half. Meghan Reese (Coopersburg, Pa.) stole an Iowa pass with just under 9:00 left and worked the ball to the right side of the Iowa circle, with Sophia Gladieux (Boyertown, Pa.) looking to pressure the cage. But Iowa's defense held firm, the Hawkeyes pushed the ball down the field and picked up the game's first penalty corner at the 8:15 mark. Penn State stopped the first Iowa corner, but Iowa picked up a quick second. The Hawkeyes connected on the second corner, with Lokke Stribbs scoring off the corner with assist Leah Zellner and Anthe Nijziel at the 7:51 mark. The Hawkeyes kept the pressure on Penn State for the next five minutes and picked up their third corner of the period with 2:58 left in the half. The Penn State defense held, and the Nittany Lions trailed by one at intermission.
Iowa outshot Penn State 11-4 in the first half, including a 7-0 edge in the second period. Barraco had two saves for the Lions while McGuire had one for Iowa. Iowa had a 3-0 lead in corners in the first two periods.
The opening minutes of the third period were battled at midfield with each team notching a couple steals. But neither squad pushed the ball into the opposing circle until the 13:25 mark when Iowa had a pass roll through the Lion circle and out of bounds. The Nittany Lion defense worked hard over the next 2:00 to keep Iowa from collapsing in on the Penn State circle. The Hawkeyes got hit for a green card with 11:00 left in the period but Iowa was able to kill the advantage and the clock moved to the 9:00 mark. Gery Schnarrs (Camp Hill, Pa.) and the Penn State defense stopped a quick Iowa break and Penn State moved the ball down to the Iowa side of the field. But Iowa's defense was up to the task and Iowa regained possession, moved the ball downfield, and grabbed the first corner of the second half with 6:53 on the clock. Meghan Reese deftly defended the corner and started a fast break that ended in the Iowa circle. Allessie and Bree Bednarski (Wyoming, Pa.) moved the ball around in front of the Iowa cage and forced the first Lion corner of the game with 6:22 on the clock. Allessie took the corner, feeding Vos who spotted Anna Simon (Hanau, Germany). Simon's shot was tipped wide, however, with 6:00 left in the quarter. The teams traded cards (green for Iowa, yellow for Penn State) in the final 2:00 of the period and Penn State trailed by one after three.
The Penn State defense had to kill an Iowa player advantage over the first minutes of the final period to keep the game a one-goal affair thanks to the third period's yellow card. The Hawkeyes kept pressure on Penn State and the Iowa offense nearly found the cage with 11:34 to play. But a Holley shot hit the crossbar and the game stayed at 1-0 with 11:30 left on the clock. Penn State got hit with another yellow card with 9:40 left in the game, giving the Hawkeyes the player advantage. The Nittany Lions withstood the Hawkeyes offense over the next minutes, killing the yellow card advantage and keeping the ball on the Iowa side of the field. Freshmen Sophia Mannino (Doylestown, Pa.) and Anouk Knuvers ('s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands) helped spark the Penn State defense in the fourth period. Emily Farrell (Wyoming, Pa.) drove the ball towards the Iowa circle as the clock moved to the 3:00 mark and forced a penalty corner. The corner was defended by Iowa, but Penn State kept possession with 2:40 left to play. Penn State tried to force a corner over the next minute, but Iowa's defense kept Penn State from getting off another shot and the Nittany Lions dropped a hard-fought 1-0 game.
"Offensively, I really think Bree Bednarski played very well, but we didn't show a lot of intensity until the last period," said head coach Char Morett-Curtiss. "It's hard to be down a player for 10 minutes against a team like Iowa and generate any offense. We will learn a lot from this game that will help us get ready for Sunday and every game ahead as this season plays out."
Iowa outshot Penn State 12-6, with the Lions owning a 2-1 edge in the second half. Barraco had two saves, McGuire had one, all coming in the first period. Iowa had a 4-2 advantage in penalty corners. The shutout was the seventh straight for Iowa. This also marks the fourth straight time Penn State has lost 1-0 to Iowa, including two 1-0 games last season in Virginia Beach and 1-0 overtime loss in the Big Ten Tournament title game in 2019 at Penn State.
Penn State is now 6-1 overall, 1-1 in the Big Ten. Iowa is now 9-0, 2-0 B1G. The two teams battle again on Sunday, Sept. 26, at 1 p.m. Eastern (12 p.m. local) in a non-conference game.
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 0 0 0
Iowa 0 1 0 0 1
STATS: PSU IOWA
Shots 6 12
Corners 2 4
SCORING SUMMARY (goal/assist) – TIME
1st: IOWA – Lokke Stribbs (Leah Zellner, Anthe Nijziel); 7:51
GOALKEEPERS: MIN GA S
PSU: Brie Barraco 60:00 1 2
IOWA: Grace McGuire 60:00 0 1