UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Nittany Lion field hockey team (8-3, 3-2 B1G), ranked No. 4 in the NFHCA Coaches Poll, dropped a hard-fought game to No. 5 Rutgers (10-2, 3-1 B1G) in a top-five Big Ten showdown Friday. Head coach Char Morett-Curtiss' squad lost 1-0 to the Scarlet Knights at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex.
Rutgers controlled the tempo early in the game, keeping the ball in the Penn State circle for the bulk of the first period as it rolled up a 4-1 edge in shots in the opening 15:00 alone. The Nittany Lion defense, with Gery Schnarrs (Camp Hill, Pa.), Elena Vos (Grave, The Netherlands) and Kelsey Love (State College, Pa.) anchoring it, kept the Knights from threatening the cage though and while Rutgers kept the pressure on Penn State goalie Brie Barraco (Allentown, Pa.) early, Barraco was only forced into one save.
Penn State turned the tables on Rutgers in the second period, however, picking up three shots while holding RU to none. The Nittany Lions began to pressure Rutgers and keeper Gianna Glatz, forcing Glatz into two saves. Pen State's offense also forced three penalty corners, including two late in the period. Anna Simon (Hanau, Germany) had a shot off one corner saved by Glatz while Vos had another on a late corner saved by the Knight keeper.
The two teams each had four shots in the opening half while Penn State had a 4-2 edge in penalty corners. Glatz had three saves for Rutgers while Barraco had one for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State's offense tried to get untracked in the third period. The Nittany Lions matched the Scarlet Knights shot-for-shot with each team picking up five. But Glatz was able to keep Penn State from finding the cage, picking up four more saves in the third period. Barraco had two saves in the period, but Rutgers was able to find the back of the cage. Three minutes into the period, Rutgers picked up a penalty corner, taken by Katie Larmour. Liz Romano's first shot was blocked, and Rachel Houston picked up the rebound, dribbled left and scored unassisted at the 11:50 mark to score the game's lone goal.
The Nittany Lions and Knights battled evenly over the game's final 15:00 with Rutgers able to defend a late Lion burst that included four penalty corners in the game's final minute. But the Nittany Lions could not get a shot on cage and Rutgers held on for the close 1-0 victory.
"We did not play with good execution today and that cost us," said Morett-Curtiss. "We talked about taking advantage of our opportunities in the circle, but we didn't execute our game plan. We also didn't do well on our penalty corners."
Rutgers outshot Penn State 12-11 over the course of the game but the Nittany Lions had a 12-8 edge in penalty corners. Glatz ended the game with eight saves while Barraco had six for Penn State.
Penn State is now 8-3 overall, 3-2 in the Big Ten. Rutgers 10-2, 3-1 B1G. The Nittany Lions host Bucknell tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 9, at 2 p.m. in a non-conference battle.
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
Rutgers 0 0 1 0 1
STATS: PSU RU
Shots 11 12
Corners 12 8
SCORING SUMMARY (goal/assist) – TIME
3rd: RU – Rachel Houston (unassisted); 11:50
GOALKEEPERS: MIN GA S
PSU: Brie Barraco 60:00 1 6
RU: Gianna Glatz 60:00 0 8