The field hockey team set the ball rolling again as it marked its 300th and 301st career victories this weekend toppling Michigan State and No. 15 Northwestern.
The Lady Lions and their high rank have made them a tasty morsel for many teams, who are in need of a big win. This was another one of those weekends.
Northwestern, on the bubble for the NCAAs, needed to beat Penn State to make the tournament.
It didn’t happen.
Penn State put a serious damper on these dreams Saturday when they roared out to an intense 2-1 victory.
Intense, being the key word.
After a lackluster match last week against North Carolina, the field hockey team came off of an intense week of practice, and shut down Michigan State 3-0, Friday.
“We applied what we practiced,” Kirt Benedict said. “We went over our goals, and knew what we needed to do. We had more possession passes, and spread out the field more, and it made the difference.”
The last time the two teams met, Penn State had a difficult time getting by Michigan State.
“They knew what happened with us in the NC game,” senior forward Danielle Annibale said. “And we knew that they would come at us for it.”
In this meeting, things happened much differently. The Lady Lions dominated the game, and outshot the Lady Spartans 40-3.
“Last time we were taken back by their style of play,” Coach Char Morett said. “This time we were able to open up the field and create some opportunitites.”
Senior defender Jill Pearsall started the Lady Lion scoring midway through the first half, when she slammed a penalty shot by Michigan goalkeeper Sarah Humpage.
Later in the first half, the Lady Lions lost Annibale to a gash in her chin. Annibale, however, returned for the Northwestern match.
“I didn’t even know I was hurt until Char called time-out,” Annibale said. “She told me to rush the free pass, so I did. It was a close call the first time, but it was the second time that got me.”
The Lady Lions spent the remainder of the first half and a big part of the second half slamming shots at the Michigan State goal. Humpage had 26 saves on the night, and was able to keep the match within one point, until the last 10 minutes.
Jen Stewart finally broke the will of Humpage, with an unassisted goal with a little less than 10 minutes left.
Freshman forward Tara Maguire decided to follow the example of her captain, and closed out the Penn State scoring.
“I was really psyched when I scored,” Maguire said. “I have been out for a while, and when I got in I wanted to do the best I could to prove I can still be an effective player. My excitement basically cancelled the pain in my ankle.”
The Lady Lions carried their excitement into their match with Northwestern.
The Wildcats came out to establish their threat to Penn State early, and scored about midway through the first half. The goal was not a pretty one, but it was the score that counted.
“The goal was a fluke,” Morett said. “It went under Shelly’s leg pad, and they rushed it in.”
Determined not to be outdone, Chris McGinley intercepted a free-in, and drove it in for a score.
That was the extent of the scoring until late in the game when junior defender Becca Main made a cross goal pass to Annibale, who in turn slammed it in.
“Becca hit a nice cross ball,” Annibale said. “I just happened to get my stick on the ball, and hit it in.”
No matter how she did it, it was the game winning goal, and it gave the Lady Lions the win they needed.
“We were ready to play this weekend,” Benedict said. “If we can keep ourselves prepared, and continue to work. I think we can win the NCAAs.”