UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Nittany Lion field hockey team (2-0, 0-0 B1G) rolled to a big non-conference win at William and Mary (2-0) to close out a two-game swing through Virginia to open up the 2021 fall season. After falling behind by a goal early, Penn State dominated the second period and roared to a 7-2 victory in Williamsburg.
Senior Anna Simon (Hanau, Germany) sparked Penn State with three goals, scoring each time within Penn State's penalty corner offense. Junior Elena Vos (Grave, The Netherlands) anchored a strong Penn State defensive showing as well as the Nittany Lion corner offense.
The first period began with a flurry. William and Mary scored quickly, getting a goal from Mollie Schuma just 3:20 into the contest. The Nittany Lions would not trail long, however. Sophia Gladieux (Boyertown, Pa.) took a Meghan Reese (Coopersburg, Pa.) assist and tied the game just over a minute later to tie the score 1-1 with less than five minutes played. Penn State goalie Brie Barraco (Allentown, Pa.) made a nice save off an Audrey Domovich shot with just over 2:30 left in the period, knocking away the shot on a penalty corner. But the Tribe was able to take a 2-1 lead just seconds later when Lily Saunders scored at the 2:15 mark. Gladieux had a shot blocked as the first period wound down and Penn State trailed 2-1 after one.
Penn State tied the game quickly in the second period. The Lion offense forced a penalty corner. Mackenzie Allessie (Mount Joy, Pa.) took the corner and fed Vos. Vos tossed it to Simon who knocked in the shot just :37 into the period to tie the game. Jemma Punch (McDowall, Australia) nearly put the Lions on top with a shot a minute later, but her effort hit the post. Penn State's penalty corner set gave the Lions a lead at the 11:06 mark, with the same trio hitting paydirt: Allessie to Vos to Simon for the score and a 3-2 Penn State lead. Simon continued to pepper the cage on penalty corners. Bree Bednarski (Wyoming, Pa.) took a corner at the 3:23 mark, sent the ball to Gladieux who assisted on a third goal by Simon to put Penn State on top by two, 4-2. Penn State wrapped up a dominant second period when Meghan Reese found the back of the cage with just :04 on the clock, taking another assist from Gladieux, and the Lions led 5-2 at the break.
Penn State outshot William and Mary 8-5 in the opening half. Barraco had two saves to one for Tribe keeper Kimi Jones. The Nittany Lions had a 5-2 edge in penalty corners in the first half as well.
The Nittany Lions continued to pour it on offensively early in the third period. After Barraco knocked back two early Tribe shots, senior Emma Spisak (Boiling Springs, Pa.) took two shots in close to the William and Mary goal. Spisak connected on the second at the 11:58 mark to give the Lions a 6-2 lead. Penn State continued to pressure William and Mary, reeling off four penalty corners in the ensuing minutes after Spisak's goal. The Tribe defense was able to keep Penn State from adding to its lead and the Nittany Lions led by four after three periods.
Penn State's depth came to play in the fourth quarter. The Nittany Lions' talented roster was on full display as the defense continued to hold the Tribe at bay. Just under 10 minutes into the final stanza, new Nittany Lion transfer Gery Schnarrs (Camp Hill, Pa) scored her first goal as a Penn Stater, taking an assist from of redshirt freshman Drew Taylor (Coatesville, Pa.) off a penalty corner, scoring at the 4:19 mark to give the Lions a 7-2 lead. Schnarrs' goal was the last of the game as Penn State rolled to the lopsided victory.
Penn State outshot William and Mary 18-11 and held an 8-4 edge in penalty corners. Barraco ended the game with four saves and two goals against while Lauren Delgado (East Earl, Pa.) saw nearly 7:00 in the cage in the fourth quarter. Jones had five saves and six goals against for the Tribe while Maddie George had a goal against.
"I was very happy with how we kept our composure early in the game," said head coach Char Morett-Curtiss. "When William and Mary scored quickly, the girls didn't panic and answered quickly. Anna (Simon) is striking the ball so well on the corner and it is great to see our corner offense clicking this early in the season. We were able to get many of our players some quality minutes against a good opponent and that is exciting. This team has great energy and is very united right now. Our offense did a good job inside the circle and played with outstanding composure."
Penn State is now 2-0 overall, 0-0 in the Big Ten. William and Mary begins its season 0-1. Penn State's first home game is the following weekend when it welcomes St. Joseph's to the Penn State Field Hockey Complex on Sunday, Sept. 5, at 3 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 1 4 1 1 7
William and Mary 2 0 0 0 2
STATS: PSU WM
Shots 18 8
Corners 11 4
SCORING SUMMARY (goal/assist) – TIME
1st: WM – Mollie Schuma (unassisted); 11:40
1st: PSU – Sophia Gladieux (Meghan Reese); 10:30
1st: WM – Lily Saunders (Tabby Billingham); 1:15
2nd: PSU – Anna Simon (Mackenzie Allessie, Elena Vos); 14:23
2nd: PSU – Simon (Allessie, Vos); 11:06
2nd: PSU – Simon (Gladieux); 3:23
2nd: PSU – Meghan Reese (Gladieux); 0:04
3rd: PSU – Emma Spisak (unassisted); 11:58
4th: PSU – Gery Schnarrs (Drew Taylor); 4:19
GOALKEEPERS: MIN GA S
PSU: Brie Barraco 53:13 2 4
Lauren Delgado 6:47 0 0
WM: Kimi Jones 54:59 6 5
Maddie George 5:01 1 0
