Jim Woods

Owlch!

For the second time this season, the Lady Lions burrowed the Temple Owls 4-2, this time to win the first round of the NCAA Division I field hockey tournament.

It wasn’t as easy as the score may imply, but Coach Char Morett said she expected a tough battle.

“No doubt about it,” she said. “Playing Temple, any time, you expect a match like that especially in the playoffs.”

The Lady Lions came out to a sluggish start, and Temple took full advantage of the situation.

“I think that we were a little bit nervous,” co-captain Jen Stewart said. “I think we will be a little nervous before every game. But I think that being nervous is good sometimes, then you are not overconfident.”

As a result of the nerves, the biggest part of the first half was an on-going tug of war. The Owls snuffed the Lady Lion attack but were driven back by the impenetrable Penn State defense.

Penn State won the first round of the war when junior Chris McGinley hooked up with the co-captains Stewart and Amy Stairs to score the first goal of the game on a penalty corner about 15 minutes into the match.

At this point, the Lady Lions picked up momentum but had it knocked back out by two quick goals via the Owls.

Temple’s Toni Byard tied the game at 1-1 on a penalty corner with assists from Debbie Utz and Cari Washko.

Less than a minute and a half later the Owls were provided with the opportunity for the go ahead goal through a penalty corner, but did not convert. Five seconds later, however, Crystal Carr drove a pass from Leizabeth Hoek past freshman goalkeeper Shelly Meister.

Despite the two quick goals, the Owls did not feel they were doing what they needed to beat the Lady Lions.

“In the game, we didn’t ever feel that we had them,” Temple defender Washko said. “That was not our team. We were not playing up to our potential.”

The second half was an entirely new game for the Lady Lions. They came out with the Lady Lion vigor that had been absent through out the first half.

“In the first half, we were waiting to catch the ball,” Morett said. “In the second half, if there was a loose ball, our defenders and backs were realy going after it. That creates the transition for us we need to get up the field.”

It did not take the Lady Lions long to get up the field in the second half. Only two and a half minutes into the second half McGinley hooked up with the Co-Captain Connection to tie the game at 2-2.

That goal took the game in hand for the Lady Lions, and the attack sparked.

This spark was enough to knock the emotion out of the Owls, and the ball spent the remainder of the match circling the Temple goal.

“Temple plays on all emotion,” Stewart said. “And once we had their emotion out of the game, we were pretty sure we had it.”

With seven minutes left McGinley pulled out the go-ahead goal when she hooked up with the Co-Captain Connection to make the score 3-2 in favor of Penn State.

Following that goal the Owls nose-dived, and McGinley put the capper on the Lady Lions scoring when Marcy Kolongowski tipped a pass from inside the circle back to McGinley who drove it past a sleeping Donna Porter.

“I think that she let it go by her,” McGinley said. “She just kind of watched it roll by, and I was like ‘thank you’, and that was it.”

That was all the Lady Lions needed to advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I field hockey tournament to meet the University of Massachusetts Minutewomen.

The Lions are coming! The Lions are coming! And they’re out to get the Minutewomen.

Penn State, riding on a five-game winning streak, is traveling to Massachusetts to face the Minutewomen on their home grass.

Massachusetts packs a statuesque lineup, and as a result does not have the speed possessed by the Lady Lions.

“UMass is traditionally not a fast team,” Coach Char Morett said. “So we have to rely on our speed and quickness, and that is what is going to win the game for us.”

Penn State has played mostly on turf this season, and has grown used to that style of ball play. UMass’ field surface is grass, but the Lady Lions have risen to the occasion when forced to play on grass.

“I think that we played our best game on grass,” Morett said. “I think we will adjust, and do fine. I don’t think it will present a problem. ”

Penalty corners have become a big part of the Lady Lions scoring, and Morett plans to add a little variety due to the grass surface.

“We have a few options that we are planning to use,” Morett said. “I think that we will be able to use a few of them.”

In the event of bad weather, the game may be transfered to a different field, which is covered with turf. The Lady Lions, however, do not feel that the surface will have a lot to do with the game, co-captain Jen Stewart said.

— by Jim Woods

Jill Pearsall, in her never ending quest to be the best, has worked her way into the reigns behind the field hockey team’s powerful defense.

“I am always working to improve, to be the best I can be,” said the sophomore defender. “Since there is always room for improvement, I’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Pearsall’s hard work has earned her the position of sweeper for the Lady Lions. The sweeper must be able to see everything on the field at all times. She must be able to stay calm, and make the calls for the defense.

“The role of sweeper is definitely for a leader,” said junior defender Becca Main. “She (Pearsall) sees everything, and still is able to react as well as she does. She is amazing.”

At the season’s beginning, Pearsall was unsure of how she would fit into this year’s lineup.

Pearsall missed the first four games of the field hockey season because she, and teammate Kirt Benedict, were playing for the U.S. Juniors Team in Venezuela.

“I was a little worried about how I would blend back in when I came back,” Pearsall said. “Once I was back though, they made it real easy for me.”

Pearsall brought back with her experience, and a large desire to play.

She was not yet sure where she would fit into the lineup, but knew she wanted to start. During the practices, prior to leaving for Venezuela, Pearsall was being tested in a number of different positions. She had no idea where — and if — she would play when she returned.

“They hadn’t lost at all while I was gone,” she said. “So I had no idea what would happen when I got back. All I knew was that I wanted to help.”

She started her second game back against Temple, who ironically, the Lady Lions play at noon today at Holuba Field in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Lady Lions were hoping for a bye past the first round of the tournament, but instead were slated against Temple.

“We were a little disappointed that we didn’t get the bye,” Pearsall said. “But everybody is up for the game, and I think that we are going to destroy them.”

In their last meeting the Lady Lions pasted the Owls in a 4-2 victory. Pearsall came out roaring in her first start of the season. She had her first goal of the season, and also was credited with her first defensive save.

“I did a lot of practicing while I was in Venezuela,” Pearsall said. “I was playing post on penalty corners, and I got to look at a lot of different shots.”

During her freshman year, Pearsall started in the midfield but played post on penalty corners.

“I was a freshman who had never played defense in my life,” Pearsall said. “It was like taping a bull’s eye to me. The teams knew I was a freshman, and tried to take full advantage of it.”

Since that time, Pearsall has erased that bullseye, and has become a key defender for the Lady Lions. This year she was one of the five Lady Lions selected for first team All-Big Ten.

“I think that Jill is one of the best defenders in the conference,” fellow defender Chris Blais said. “I think that we work a lot better as a unit with her telling us what is going on.”

The No. 5 field hockey team is back on the NCAA prowl.

For the 11th consecutive year the NCAA has invited the Lady Lions to participate in its Division I field hockey tournament in which the team has a history of finishing fourth.

The Lady Lions, who finished second in the Big Ten, are slated to square off against intrastate and former Atlantic 10 rival Temple at high noon Thursday at Holuba Field. The Lady Owls were the A-10 runner-up this year.

After coming off two big wins last weekend, the Lady Lions were hoping to take advantage of No. 4 North Carolina’s loss to New Hampshire and No. 3 Massachusetts’ tie to move into the top four.

The rankings, however, did not change, and the Lady Lions have to get by the Owls before they can advance to the semi-finals against the Massachusetts Minutewomen Sunday in Worcester.

Hoping to receive the bye, the Lady Lions were not pleased upon first notice of the invitation. As a result, they have decided to focus their discontent on Temple.

“I feel sorry for Temple,” junior defender Becca Main said. “We are going to run right over them to get to where we wanted to be.”

“We were dealt a bad card,” co-captain Amy Stairs said, “but we will have to win with the hand we have. The harder the road, the bigger we win.”

Coach Char Morett told her team to use the placing as a positive. Massachusetts will not play until Sunday, while Penn State will have a chance to build momentum against the Owls, she said.

Despite the team’s discontent, Morett is happy that the Lady Lions are paired with Temple.

“Penn State against Temple is a classic matchup,” Morett said. “It’s a real big rivalry, and we do have an advantage in playing at home. I feel very comfortable with how we’ve been playing, but in the tournament, anything can happen. We have to focus on Temple, and not look beyond that.”

The Lady Lions are now one step closer to breaking their NCAA jinx of fourth place finishes. But they can not afford to look past Temple.

“We’ve gotta take this one step at a time,” junior Chris McGinley said. “So we can’t discount Temple. We have to beat them.”

While Lady Lion Coach Char Morett celebrated her 100th and 101st victory at Penn State, the field hockey team racked up two victories essential to its placing in the NCAA Tournament.

Morett is in her sixth year as a coach for the Lady Lions, and holds a record of 101-25-14. After the Lady Lions’ 3-1 victory over Ohio State, Morett was presented with a mass of blue and white balloons, a bottle of champagne, flowers, and a cake to celebrate. At first, Morett was surprised by the barrage of gifts, and did not know why she was getting them.

“I had no idea,” she said. “I thought I celebrated this a couple of years ago, but that was my 100th career win, and I know my birthday isn’t for another month. It’s great. It really is.”

Due to an uncooperative Mother Nature, all of the field hockey games were played inside Holuba Hall. The change of atmosphere seemed to do the Lady Lions a lot of good as they roared over both Ohio State and Northwestern.

“I think the change of scenery was fresh air for us,” co-captain Amy Stairs said. “I just think everybody knows the NCAAs are just around the corner, and with Char and all, it just made for some really great field hockey.”

Amidst all of the emotion, the Lady Lions’ attack came to life. Until this weekend, the defense has been the key to the Penn State game. With the awakening of the attack, the Lady Lions presented a full-team effort, and played the best they have this season.

“Everybody played great,” senior Daniele Annibale said. “The defense was keeping the ball away from our end, there were great passes through the midfield, and they put it right there for the attack. It was the best we’ve played.”

In their 1-0 victory over Northwestern, the Lady Lions fired off 44 shots on goal and permitted only four Northwestern shots on goal. Wildcat goalkeeper Shannon Small recorded 30 saves, and was the only thing preventing the Lady Lions from a high scoring game.

“(Small) was the difference between, what was a close game, and a complete blowout,” Morett said. “We tried everything, and she held off everything.”

Despite the lack of scoring, the Lady Lions dominated the field, and showcased everything they have worked on in the past weeks.

“We were keeping the field spread, and we’re finaly passing hard and accurate,” Senior Kelly Heiser said. “We were all so psyched! Especially against Ohio.”

The Lady Lions pounced out to an early lead, and left the Lady Buckeyes unheard of from that point on.

“I just think that we were playing on such an emotional high,” Miester said. “We were just so intense that we couldn’t have been stopped. We wanted to jump on them early, and we did.”

Six minutes into the game Chris McGinley hooked up with the Co-Captian Connection of Stairs and Jen Stewart to score on a penalty corner.

The Lady Lions attack continued to circle the Lady Buckeye goal just waiting for the prey to expose itself.

Junior Kirt Benedict found a tender spot, and slapped a shot towards the open corner of the goal, and McGinley gave it the bump to make the score 2-0.

Shortly after, when Benedict was crashing the goal, Ohio goalkeeper Sue Wilson was kicking away an Annibale slapshot, and hit Benedict in the face. Benedict left the game, and returned to the sidelines shortly after with stitches, two shiners, and a broken nose. She was unable to return for the remainder of the weekend.

Annibale went on to score the final Lady Lion goal about half way through the first half. Morett used many subs in the second half, and received a first rate performance from them.

“We have the depth we need to go into the NCAAs,” Morett said. “It is a good thing to know that we have people like Kelly Heiser and Meredith (Mandrachia) that can just jump right in, and do that well.”

The Icers’ run-and-gun offense continues to shoot out the rapid fire goals as they guned down both Buffalo State 6-2 and Ohio University 7-2 to win the OU Tournament.

“These are the toughest games we’ve had this season,” said forward Ross Cowan. “But once we get started, it is hard to slow back down. We really get up for games like these.”

Since the Icers no longer play Niagra, OU has developed into one of Penn State’s most intense rivals.”We don’t need any incentive to be up for OU,” Cowan said. “We’ll go after them just because of who they are.”

Both teams blazed out like fire on ice for the first period of the Championship match between the two arch rivals. OU was coming off of a 19-2 victory over the Purdue Boilermakers, and the Icers handled Buffalo State 6-2.

Both teams were executing every play with fine precision, and were scrapping for the opportunity to be the first step up.

Almost nine minutes into the first period the C.C.M. line started the scoring. Mark Cervellero with an assist from his brother Chris Cervellero, and forward Dave Murphy, whom the line is named for, momentarily broke the stalemate.

Six minutes later OU answered with a power play goal of its own. Less than two minutes later, a similar exchange took place when Cowan’s goal was answered by a fluke OU goal.

“The guy was in the corner and threw the puck at the net and it bounced off of a defender’s leg,” Battista said. “There was nothing you can realy do in situations like that. It was luck.”

Nearing the end of the first period the Icers unleashed a mini-flurry, and scored two quick unanswered goals.

Cowan quoted his coach saying, “We’re an experienced offensive team, and when we score, you can expect two or three more to follow. We will score in flurries.”

The first was a play that the Icers have worked on all season. Brad Russle was behind the net, and made a pass out to Cowan, who was at the left face-off circle, and Cowan centered the puck to Rob Keegan, who was streaking towards the net, and sunk the puck.

“It was an extremely competitive first period,” Battista said. “It makes for great hockey to watch.”

The Icers wanted to establish their dominance early in the second period, and scored the first goal in only two and a half minutes.

OU breifly threatened a comeback in the form of a 3-on-1 breakaway, but a swift save by John Gray took the frost out of OU’s bite.

“Johnny was tough in the net,” Cowan said. “He was great, and without him our goals wouldn’t have mattered.”

Battista said the Icers played flawless hockey through the second and third period of the match, and was pleased with the balance of the offense and defense. The Icers left OU very few shots on goal, and increased their lead to 6-2 at the end of the second period.

The final goal came at the end of the third period when Keegan with an assist from Cowan and Scott Mangene sealed the game, and the OU Tournament championship with a 7-2 victory over their rivals.

“We learned our potential,” Cowan said. “We still need to work, but we learned what we can do against tough opponents.”

Battista is quite pleased with the championship, but is still wary over getting overly excited this early in the season.

“We got our first piece of hardware, but I’m still trying to suppress the excitement,” he said, ” but, boy, we were playing some great hockey. I still have to try to contain my excitement, though, the season is young.”

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.”

“Winning isn’t everything, but losing sucks.”

That is the philosophical core of Icer Chris Cervellero’s competitive attitude.

Cervellero said with everything he does, he gives it his all, and strives to win.

“He’s a competitor,” Icers Coach Joe Battista said. “It doesn’t matter what it’s in, you just get into a conversation with him. He wants to win the conversation.”

Senior goalie John Gray said Cervellero doesn’t accept losing very well, and that he does everything with a pure desire to win.

“He runs on an emotional high,” Gray said. “He uses his desire to create scoring opportunities. He always has a strong will to win.”

Cervellero said he is especially anxious for some big wins this weekend when the Icers travel to Ohio University for the Ohio U. Tournament. The Icers’ first opponent will be Buffalo State, and Battista said they’ve always been a tough opponent.

“They’ve always been a thorn in our side,” Battista said. “They beat us in the opening round of the League playoffs last year, and I think the guys have revenge in mind.”

The Icers have also built up a rivalry with OU after Penn State upset them en route to the 1990 National Championship. Ohio has since been a menace to the Icers.

“We can’t look past Buff State,” Cervellero said. “But I want to get to OU, and show them what we got.”

This determination has made many good things happen, but it has also led to some time in the penalty box for Cervellero.

“Any time you play with that level of intensity things are bound to happen,” Battista said. “He gets caught up in the game, and spends some time in the box as a result. But he comes back out and makes up for it.”

Cerveellero has matured a lot as a person and as a hockey player, Battista said.

“He used to do a lot of yelling at refs,” the coach continued, “but he still played excellent hockey. He’s matured a lot and has become a good role model.”

Battista is quite pleased with the emotion that Cervellero plays on, and said he wished he could have more players with his qualities.

“I wish I could mass produce him,” Battista said. “I wish there were more guys that came with the tools he has.”

In his first shift, in his first game as a freshman, Cervellero scored his first goal. Since that time he has scored his way up to the No. 14 all time scorer for the Icers. Gray said he feels Cervellero’s emotions are what drives him to create the scoring opportunities.

“His fire is what makes him such a big part of the big plays.” Gray said. “He’s not necessarily a finesse player, but he’s got the talent and the heart to get through.”

Battista said, for as long as he can remember, the players who have worn the jersey No. 17 have played the same brand of hockey that Cervellero does.

“He does justice to the jersey he wares,” Battista said. “All of the guys who have worn that No. 17 have played that same brand of wreckless abandon hockey. It isn’t pretty, but they play with the desire that creates goals and wins games.”

Cervellero said everything he does, is to benefit the team rather than himself. He said he loves being a part of a team, especially this Icers team, and would do anything for them.

“He’d go through a brick wall if he thought it would help,” Battista said. “That’s just the kind of guy he is.”

Defense. Defense. Defense. Chris McGinley. More defense.

The field hockey team clinched the regionals, and a bid to the NCAA tournament, with its noticeably defensive 2-0 victory over unranked West Chester last night on the Holuba Hall Turf.

Once again, the Lady Lions came out to a match with intentions of an offensive game. Once again, the opposing team forced the Lady Lions to play a very defensive match.

Penn State is now used to this type of match, and rose to the occasion nicely.

“They played strong. They came at us, they were ready to go,” freshman goalkeeper Shelly Meister said. “But, our defense, as usual, turned it on. We’re just never down, even on slow games like this one, we always play to our fullest potential.”

The defensive effort, combined with two unassisted goals from McGinley, was enough to get the win, clinch the regionals, and secure a bid for the Lady Lions in the NCAA tournament. Morett, however, feels some work is necessary before they get there.

“The win clinched the regionals, and we’ll get a bid just out of our region alone,” Coach Char Morett said. “It is nice to know that we are in, but now we have to work on the things we need to put us in contention.”

The Lady Lions have been working on spreading out their field play, and being more accurate on their possession passes. They were not given much of a chance to show if the work was worthwhile; West Chester came out with an attack that was stronger than Morett and the Lady Lions had expected.

“I thought West Chester played really well tonight,” Morett said. “Better than we had expected. We didn’t posses the ball as well as we had anticipated, and we didn’t work to spread things out.”

West Chester Coach Kathy Krannebitter said that she was pleased with her teams performance, and said her team is not as bad as the record shows.

“We are a lot better than our record shows,” Krannebitter said. “All of our losses were really close.”

Krannebitter said that her team tends to play to the talent of the opposing team.

“We play up to the competition,” she said. “When we play great teams like Penn State, we play great, but it just wasn’t enough.”

West Chester’s great play was enough to shut down Penn State’s typically potent penalty corner, and silenced the Lady Lion attack.

The penalty corner defensive on both sides was particularly strong. Meister had eight saves on the night, and had some of her best saves on the penalty corners.

“Their shots were coming hard,” Meister said. “As usual, our defense countered strong. This is the defense we will need to keep playing to continue winning, especially this weekend on through the tournament.”