UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; Sept. 9, 2022 – The Penn State Nittany Lion field hockey team (3-1, 0-0 B1G), ranked No. 8 in the NFHCA Coaches Poll, used a fourth-period goal from Grace Wallis (Blue Bell, Pa.) to grab a road win at No. 12 St. Joseph's (2-2) in a Keystone State non-conference game. Wallis scored with just under 9:00 to play to spark Penn State to a 2-1 victory in Philadelphia.
St. Joseph's came out and pressured Penn State at the start of the game, forcing Lion goalie Brie Barraco (Allentown, Pa.) into an early save and then picking up two quick penalty corners, all in the first :51. The second corner led to the game's first goal, a score by Leigh James off the second corner less than a minute into the game, giving the Hawks and early 1-0 lead. The teams played even hockey for the next five-plus minutes. Penn State got hit with a green card with 8:35 left in the period but successfully defended the SJU player advantage. With 2:13 left in the first period, Penn State picked up its first penalty corner of the game after an offensive push. Sophia Gladieux (Boyertown, Pa.) had her shot off the corner offense blocked. The Nittany Lions trailed 1-0 after one period.
The Penn State offense worked the ball into the SJU circle four minutes into the second period and Gladieux had Penn State' second shot of the game sail just high. The Nittany Lions kept the pressure on the Hawks defense, with an Anna Simon (Hanau, Germany) shot slipping wide with 4:56 left in the first half, but the Lions continued to trail by a goal. Penn State's pressure paid off with 3:12 left in the half when Carly Gannon (Havertown, Pa.) scored on an assist from Mackenzie Allessie (Mount Joy, Pa. to tie the game a 1-1. The Nittany Lions continued to control possession in the waning minutes of the half, forcing a penalty corner. Simon and Grace Wallis (Blue Bell, Pa.) shots blocked, and the Nittany Lions entered halftime tied 1-1.
Penn State outshot St. Joseph's 7-2 in the first half and had a 3-2 edge in corners. Barraco had one save for Penn State while Robin Bleekemolen had one for the Hawks
The Hawks took possession early in the second half and forced a penalty corner just :46 into the third period. Mirroring the first period, Barraco made a quick early save to keep the Hawks from scoring during the early press. The game moved to the middle of the third period with the team's trading possessions. St. Joseph's forced a corner with 3:14 left in the period and Barraco made a great save on a Freke Van Tilburg shot to keep the game tied. Seven seconds later, SJU picked up another corner and the ensuing shot sailed wide. The teams traded shots as the clock moved below the 2:00 mark when Wallis had a shot on goal saved by Bleekemolen and the third period ended in a 1-1 tie.
For the third time in the game, St. Joseph's notched the first shot of the period and for the third time, Barraco knocked away the effort to keep the game tied just 2:00 into the fourth. Penn State answered with offensive of its own at the 10:00 mark with Gladieux getting a shot off, slipping just wide of the cage. But Penn State kept the pressure on and took a 2-1 lead when Wallis took an assist from Jemma Punch (Queensland, Australia) at the 8:51 mark to put the Nittany Lions on top. The Nittany Lions carried that lead deep into the fourth period. St. Joseph's moved the ball into the Lion circle with less than 5:00 to play and picked up a penalty corner. After a blocked shot, the Hawks continued to maintain possession and forced another corner at the 2:18 mark. The Lion defense blocked the shot off the corner again and continued to hold off the Hawks to kill the clock and grab the 2-1 road win.
"This was a great win on the road against a very good team," said Morett-Curtiss. "We did some things well but still need to put the ball on the cage more. We'll work on that and it is something we can and will get better at. Brie Barraco played a great game for us today. She really kept us in the game in the third period and then Grace came through with a big goal for us in the fourth."
St. Joseph's outshot Penn State 12-11 over the course of the game and had an 8-3 edge in penalty corners. Barraco had five saves for the Nittany Lions while Bleekemolen had two for SJU.
Penn State is 3-1 overall and St. Joseph's falls to 2-2. The Nittany Lions continue weekend road action at Delaware on Sunday, Sept. 11, 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 0 1 2
St. Joseph's 1 0 0 0 0
STATS: PSU SJU
Shots 11 12
Corners 3 8
SCORING SUMMARY (goal/assist) – TIME
1st: SJU – Leigh James (Freke Van Tilburg); 14:01
2nd: PSU – Carly Gannon (Mackenzie Allessie); 3:12
4th: PSU – Grace Wallis (Jemma Punch); 8:51
GOALKEEPERS: MIN GA S
PSU: Brie Barraco 60:00 1 5
SJU: Robin Bleekemolen 60:00 2 2