When applying for colleges, field hockey player Kirt Benedict wasn’t sure if she would be able to play for a Division III team, let alone start for the Division I Lady Lions.
“I applied for 11 schools,” Benedict said. “Everything from Division III to Division I. When I visited Penn State, I fell in love with the school, and I knew it had a big field hockey program.”
Benedict is happy with her choice, and wants to help her team get a bye in the first round of the NCAA tournament. To do that, the Lady Lions must win both of their home games this weekend. At 7 tonight, the Lady Lions host Ohio State on the turf adjacent to Holuba Hall, and at 3 on Sunday, they will do battle with Northwestern for the second week in a row.
“They (Northwestern) need this game bad,” Benedict said. “We’re going to have to come out as a team and score early. We have to kick butt!”
Benedict has not yet scored a goal this season, but said she wants to end that scoreless streak this weekend.
“I always expect more of myself,” she said. “I put a lot of pressure on myself, and it damages my game. I still do it to myself. I know I can do better.”
When Benedict is not second guessing herself, she has tremendous stick skills, and a lot of speed.
“Sometimes you’ll see her surrounded by defenders, and she’ll come up with this move and burn them all,” junior Sharon Kuntz said. “She is incredibly fast too. I’ve seen her outrun everybody on the field. She has all the potential in the world when she uses her instincts.”
Benedict jokingly said one of her goals is to stop thinking. She wants to quit thinking before she reacts on the field, and start relying on her impulses. Once she can do this she feels her game will improve immensely.
“I always just miss the big play,” Benedict said. “If I can just react a little faster, I know I can make a difference.”
Senior co-captain Jen Stewart said Benedict may not be the big play finisher, but without her there couldn’t be any big plays.
“She has excellent moves, especially when she is moving the ball up the right side,” Stewart said. “She is the person who puts the ball upfield so the plays can happen.”
Stewart feels when Benedict has faith in herself, and trusts her instincts, she is also capable of producing the big plays just like anybody else.
“All she needs is to have confidence in herself,” Stewart said. “I’ve seen her make the big plays. Everybody else has the confidence in her, she just needs to have some in herself.”