UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; August 28, 2022 – The Penn State Nittany Lion field hockey team (1-1, 0-0 B1G), ranked No. 11 in the NFHCA Coaches Poll, lost a hard-fought non-conference game to No. 9 Louisville (2-0) in the second game of the season for both teams. The visiting Cardinals used a late penalty stroke to grab a 2-1 win at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex.
Louisville worked the ball into the Nittany Lion circle to start the game, getting off a quick shot that Lion goalie Brie Barraco (Allentown, Pa.) was able to kick aside. The Cardinals forced the game's first penalty corner at the 10:57 mark. Barraco once again was able kick away a Julie Kouijzer shot to keep the game scoreless early. Mackenzie Allessie (Mount Joy, Pa.) got off Penn State's first shot at 5:30 after a nifty drive down the left side of the UL circle. Cardinal keeper Sasha Elliott was able to make the save to keep the game tied 0-0. Aubrey Semler (Orefield, Pa.) got off a quick shot from the left of the circle that sailed just wide with 3:00 left as Penn State turned the tables on possession. Another Allessie shot and another Elliott save closed out the scoreless first period tie.
The two teams traded early possessions until the Lions worked the ball deep into the Louisville circle. Grace Wallis (Blue Bell, Pa.) got off a hard shot that the UL keep was able to block as the clock moved to the 10:00 mark. Sophia Gladieux (Boyertown, Pa.) followed with a quick tip that Elliott made the save on and then Penn State picked up tis first corner with 8:42 on the clock. Elliott made the save off Gladieux' s rocket shot on the offensive set and the game remained scoreless. Louisville responded with a fast break that Gery Schnarrs (Camp Hill, Pa.) stopped. Schnarrs fed Jemma Punch (McDowall, Australia) down the left sideline and the Lion senior blasted a shot at Elliott. Elliott blocked the effort, but Gladieux was right there, knocking the rebound past the UL keeper to give Penn State a 1-0 lead with 5:45 left in the half. Penn State kept the pressure on, forcing two corners. But two Anna Simon (Hanau, Germany) shots were blocked as the clock hit the 3:30 mark. Penn State carried the 1-0 lead into halftime.
After giving up the first two shots of the game, Penn State outshot Louisville 11-2 overall in the first half. The Nittany Lions forced three penalty corners to one for UL. Barraco had the two early saves for Penn State while Elliott collected seven for Louisville.
Louisville forced a penalty corner early in the third period, but an Aimee Plumb shot went wide. The Lions worked the ball down to the UL circle on a fast break, but a Punch crossing pass slid out of bounds with 10:10 left in the period. Elena Vos (Grave, The Netherlands), Kelsey Love (State College, Pa.) and the Lion defense kept the pressure off of the Lion cage as the clock move under the 8:00 mark. Freshman Ella Jennes (Aerdenhout, The Netherlands) had a nifty drift from the left side stymied by Elliott with 6:09 on the clock but Penn State had re-established the offensive pressure it ended the first half with. A Jennes to Carly Gannon (Havertown, Pa.) pass allowed Penn State to eventually force a corner at 4:58, but the call was overturned, and action resumed with Penn State up 1-0. Penn State got hit with a green card at the 1:50 mark, giving Louisville a player advantage for the remainder of the period. Louisville took advantage of the card and tied the game with :27 left in the period when Katie Schneider scored unassisted.
Gladieux had a close shot kicked aside at the 11:20 mark to open up the fourth period. The Nittany Lions kept action in the UL circle, but the Cardinal was able to regain possession and move the ball down to the Penn State side. Louisville's Plumb had a shot blocked by Barraco with 9:10 left and the game continued in a 1-1 tie. A brief Lion press was pushed back by Louisville and the Cardinals picked up a corner with 7:29 on the clock. Barraco kicked away two Plumb shots from 15 feet to keep the game tied. But Louisville worked the ball back in front of the Lion cage where Barraco slid into a Louisville player to block a shot and penalty stroke was called. Plumb connected on the penalty shot and Louisville took a 2-1 lead with 4:22 left in the game. Penn State worked the ball downfield, looking for a tying goal, but the Cardinals were able to push back each Lion effort and work the clock down below 2:00. With 1:30 left in the game, Penn State moved into the Louisville circle, but Louisville was able to push the ball out of bounds twice. The Lions kept the ball on the Louisville endline and picked up a penalty corner with :27 left in the game. Punch's shot off the corner was blocked but the Lions were awarded another corner at :18. A subsequent Lion shot was blocked, and Louisville ran out the clock for the win.
"We put ourselves into position to win this game with a great first half, but we lost our focus," said head coach Char Morett-Curtiss. "This was a field hockey game with two high-level teams. I'm very proud of how we dominated the first half, but we have to put two halves together. We will work on and focus on that this week in practice."
Penn State outshot Louisville 14-9 overall but the Cardinals owned a 7-3 edge in the second half. Penn State owned a 5-3 advantage in corners. Barraco had five saves for Penn State while Elliott had eight for Louisville, seven in the first half.
Penn State is 1-1 overall and Louisville is 2-0. The Nittany Lions travel to the University at Albany next Saturday, Sept. 3, for a 1 p.m. non-conference contest next weekend.
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 0 0 1
Louisville 0 0 1 1 2
STATS: PSU UL
Shots 14 9
Corners 5 3
SCORING SUMMARY (goal/assist) – TIME
2nd: PSU – Sophia Gladieux (unassisted); 5:45
3rd: UL – Katie Schneider (unassisted); 0:27
4th: UL – Aimee Plumb (penalty stroke); 4:22
GOALKEEPERS: MIN GA S
PSU: Brie Barraco 60:00 2 5
UL: Sasha Elliott 60:00 1 8