UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Nittany Lion field hockey team (1-1) defeated the Lock Haven Bald Eagle (1-1), 8-0, on Sunday afternoon at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex. This is the second straight contest between the two programs which ended in a 8-0 score in favor of the Nittany Lions.
Joji Purdy led the offensive effort with a pair of goals while Sienna Dunn had the overall point lead off a goal and two assists. Hope Russo, Ella Gaitan, Olivia Marthins and Natalie Freeman all notched goals with freshman Chloe D’Hage recording a goal and an assist on the afternoon. Aby Deverka kept a clean sheet in the cage with a trio of saves on four penalty corners and six shots faced thanks to a stifling defensive effort from the Blue & White.
FIRST PERIOD | PSU 0 - LHU 0
The Nittany Lions and Bald Eagles both garnered chances during the first period with Lock Haven shooting three times and a pair of penalty corners while Penn State shot six times with a single penalty corner. The Bald Eagles’ Quinty van Luijk secured four saves during the period.
SECOND PERIOD | PSU 1 - LHU 0
After a scoreless first period, Penn State found the back of the net early with Marthins scoring an unassisted goal, her second of the season. The Penn State defense started to lock down on the Lock Haven attack, only allowing the Bald Eagles to shoot once during the period and only one opportunity off a penalty corner. With 30 seconds left in the period, Lock Haven’s Maggie Moylan was issued a yellow card which went over to the second half.
THIRD PERIOD | PSU 6 - LHU 0
Penn State flexed its offensive muscles in the third period. After only converting 13 shots into only one goal, the Nittany Lions doubled its shot total in the third period alone with five goals scored. Dunn sparked the offensive effort after converting a penalty stroke early in the third with D’Hage scoring her second goal of her freshman season off an assist by Lara Pyle. Russo notched her goal five minutes later with Lilly Holmes on the assist before a case of déjà vu hit the Penn State Field Hockey Complex. Off a pair of penalty corners, Purdy scored in the upper corner with Cam Standish inserting and Dunn stopping the ball on both.
FOURTH PERIOD | PSU 8 – LHU 0
The Nittany Lions clamped down further on the Lock Haven attack, not allowing a single shot to head Deverka’s way. Offensively, Freeman scored early in the quarter to continue to the momentum in Penn State’s favor. Midway through the fourth, the Gaitan scored the final goal of the contest with Pyle and Kerry O’Donnell helping out on the penalty corner set up. With the win, Penn State notched its first win of the season and the victory was the first for Head Coach Hannah Prince as a Nittany Lion.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions continue the team’s six-game home stretch to start the 2026 season by hosting the Villanova Wildcats on Friday, September 4 at 3 p.m. and the Delaware Blue Hens on Sunday, September 6 at 12 p.m. Fans can stream the contest on B1G+ and can attend all games played at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex at no cost.
Visit GoPSUSports.com for the up-to-date information on Penn State Field Hockey. Fans can follow Penn State Field Hockey social media on Facebook at /pennstatefieldhockey as well as Twitter and Instagram @PennStateFH.