UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; September 5, 2021 – The Penn State Nittany Lion field hockey team (3-0, 0-0 B1G), ranked No. 16 in the NFHCA Coaches Poll, used a late goal from sophomore Sophia Gladieux (Boyertown, Pa.) to beat No. 20 St. Joseph's (1-2) in the home opener for head coach Char Morett-Curtiss and her squad. The Boyertown native scored her second goal of the game with less than 10:00 to play to spark Penn State to the 3-2 non-conference win in Happy Valley.
The two teams battled to an even draw in the opening period. The visitors withstood four early Penn State shots with keeper Robin Bleekemolen notching a save in the period to keep the game knotted in a 0-0 tie after the opening 15:00 of play. The Hawk defense withstood two Penn State penalty corners in the opening period as well
St. Joseph's got on the board first just 1:24 into the second period when Manu Ghigliotti scored off an assist from Katelyn Cocco to give SJU a 1-0 lead. St. Joseph's was able to control the action in the second period, picking up a total of four shots and forcing Penn State goalie Brie Barraco (Allentown, Pa.) into three saves. But Barraco's play in the cage and the Lion defense kept Penn State within one, and eventually the Nittany Lion offense broke through. As the second period wound down, Anna Simon (Hanau, Germany) moved in the from the right side of the circle and fed the ball in where Elena Vos (Grave, The Netherlands) tipped the ball towards Emma Spisak (Boiling Springs, Pa.). Spisak moved the ball around Bleekemolen and tied the game at 1-1 with just :32 left in the first half.
Penn State outshot St. Joseph's 7-4 in the first 30:00 and had a 4-1 edge in penalty corners. Barraco had three saves to two for Bleekemolen at intermission.
Gladieux scored her first goal of the game just 4:00 into the third period. The sophomore broke open in front of the cage after moving in from the right side of the circle and scored on an unassisted back hand to put Penn State up 2-1. Penn State was able to maintain its one goal lead for six minutes before Ghigliotti scored once more, this time unassisted, to tie the game up at 2-2 with 4:39 left in the third period. The tie score held into the fourth.
Penn State took the lead for good with 8:30 left to play. Freshman Sophia Mannino (Doylestown, Pa.) used a nifty moved outside the circle, right of the cage, and moved the ball in towards the Hawk cage. She fed Gladieux as both players pressed the cage and Gladieux knocked the ball past the Hawk keeper for the goal, giving Penn State a 3-2 lead. The Nittany Lion defense stood firm for the remainder of the game, including a solid effort on a last-second Hawk penalty corner, to preserve the 3-2 victory.
"I liked some of the build-up plays we had on attack," said head coach Char Morett-Curtiss. "We need to show more structure and composure on defense, and I feel we picked that up a bit in the second half. We were gritty on offense in getting to the goal and that tenacity helped get us the win today. St. Joseph's is a very good team, and this was a well-played game. I'm very pleased to get this win today."
Penn State outshot St. Joseph's 15-11 and had a 9-6 edge in penalty corners. Barraco ended the game with five saves while Bleekemolen had four.
Penn State is now 3-0 overall, 0-0 in the Big Ten. St. Joseph's stands at 2-2. Penn State hosts two non-conference games next weekend at the Field Hockey Complex. Albany visits Happy Valley for a 4 p.m. game on Friday, Sept. 10. Two days later, Penn State hosts Delaware on Sunday, Sept. 12, at 12 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 1 1 1 3
St. Joseph's 0 1 1 0 2
STATS: PSU SJU
Shots 15 11
Corners 9 6
SCORING SUMMARY (goal/assist) – TIME
1st: TEAM – Score (assist); 0:00
2nd: SJU – Manu Ghigliotti (Katelyn Cocco); 13:36
2nd: PSU – Emma Spisak (Anna Simon, Elena Vos); 0:32
3rd: PSU – Sophia Gladieux (unassisted); 10:59
3rd: SJU – Ghigliotti (unassisted); 9:39
4th: PSU – Gladieux (Sophia Mannino); 8:30
GOALKEEPERS: MIN GA S
PSU: Brie Barraco 60:00 2 5
SJU: Robin Bleekemolen 59:00 3 4
Team 1:00 0 0
