UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; November 6, 2022 – The Penn State Nittany Lion field hockey team (15-3), under the direction of Big Ten Coach of the Year Char Morett-Curtiss, is headed to the 2022 NCAA Field Hockey Championship Tournament and will travel to Michigan, one of four host sites, for the first and second rounds. The Nittany Lions will face Louisville (12-7) on Friday, Nov. 11, at 2:30 p.m.
Michigan (14-5) battles UAlbany (15-4) in its first-round game in Ann Arbor on Friday at 12 p.m. The second round (quarterfinals) will take place on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 1 p.m. in Michigan. Penn State enters the NCAA tournament with a 15-3 record and was the 2022 Big Ten Co-Champions after a 7-1 regular season record in conference games.
The Nittany Lions hosted Louisville earlier this year, dropping a 2-1 game on Aug. 28 at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex. Louisville has a 2-0 lead in the all-time series between the two teams. Penn State went 1-1 against host Michigan and 1-0 against UAlbany this season as well.
"We're excited to be in the NCAA tournament once again," said Morett-Curtiss. "This team has worked extremely hard all season long and has earned the opportunity to play for an NCAA title. We've played all three teams who will be at our site, and it is going to be a great weekend of field hockey."
North Carolina is the tournament's top seed, Northwestern is No. 2, Maryland No. 3 and Michigan No. 4. For all four host sites, Friday's winners will meet each other on Sunday, Nov. 13, in the NCAA quarterfinals. The four quarterfinal winners will head to Storrs, Conn., for the national semifinals/finals hosted by the University of Connecticut. The NCAA semifinals and title games will be on Friday and Sunday, Nov. 17 and 20.
Penn State's balanced attack has been led by Big Ten Player of the Year Sophia Gladieux and fellow All-Big Ten honorees Mackenzie Allessie, Brie Barraco, Elena Vos and Anna Simon as well as veteran starters Jemma Punch, Grace Wallis, Meghan Reese, Kelsey Love, Gery Schnarrs and Anouk Knuvers.
Gladieux will head into the NCAA tournament with 45 points off 21 goals and four assists. Allessie has 38 off 11 and 16 while Simon has 22 off eight and six. Barraco has 75 saves and a .781 percentage.
This will be Penn State's seventh NCAA appearance in the last decade alone and the 30th time in Morett-Curtiss' 36 seasons at Penn State.
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.
