IOWA CITY, Iowa – The No. 19 Penn State Nittany Lions (11-5, 5-2 Big Ten) fell to the No. 6 Iowa Hawkeyes (12-3, 4-3 Big Ten) at Grant Field on Sunday afternoon.
Aby Deverka secured four saves on the afternoon while Joji Purdy, Ella Gaitan and Natalie Freeman all recorded shots on goal.
FIRST QUARTER | PSU 0 – Iowa 0
The Penn State defense had a phenomenal opening frame. Despite a pair of penalty corners being attempted on the Blue & White, the three shots fired from the opportunities were all blocked by the Nittany Lions’ flyers to keep the scoresheet clean. Penn State’s offense was pressuring the Iowa defending third throughout with a nearly equal time of possession but were unable to fire a shot.
SECOND QUARTER | PSU 0 – Iowa 0
The Blue & White defense held steady during the second frame. Deverka secured a pair of saves while Penn State only allowed three shots during the period. The Nittany Lions were able to fire off a shot late in the quarter, but the volley was ultimately saved by the Iowa netminder to keep the score even.
THIRD QUARTER | PSU 0 – Iowa 1
The Hawkeyes’ offensive pressure finally broke through the Penn State defense in the opening minutes of the half. After a shot hit the post and created an Iowa penalty corner opportunity, the Hawkeyes converted for the only goal of the game. Another shot was fired off against Deverka, but the junior goalkeeper grabbed a save. Purdy recorded the only Penn State shot of the quarter as the Nittany Lions found themselves down with 15 minutes left.
FOURTH QUARTER | PSU 0 – Iowa 1
The Nittany Lions had a complete fourth with another shutout quarter and the most effective offense during the final frame of competition. Penn State allowed none of Iowa’s four shots to find the back of the cage including a save by Deverka. The Nittany Lions had five shots in the stanza with a pair of penalty corners in the closing seconds. Gaitan and Purdy’s shots were both saved by the Iowa goalkeeper with the final shot of the contest being ricocheted above the cage as time expired.
UP NEXT
Penn State will end the regular season at home on Friday, October 30 against the reigning national champions, Northwestern. Admission to all Penn State Field Hockey home games are free to all fans.
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