Jim Woods

You name it, Sharon Kuntz has played it.

The junior Kuntz has become the utility player for the field hockey team, and she has displayed the versatility to play wherever she is needed.

Where Kuntz will appear next is a mystery. She played midfield last weekend, and played strong defensively and offensively.

Kuntz is still not sure where she will fit into the everchanging lineup when the Lady Lions face West Chester at 7 tonight on the turf adjacent to Holuba Hall.

“I really don’t know where I’ll play if I play,” Kuntz said, “but wherever it is, I will do my best to help the team.”

Her help can only benefit the Lady Lion’s effort against unranked West Chester.

Coach Char Morett feels the game will be tough despite West Chester’s poor record.

“I don’t feel their record reflects their talent,” she said. “We have to keep things spread out like we did last weekend.”

Kuntz was a large factor in keeping the action spread out in the Lady Lions’ victories against Michigan State and Northwestern.

“She was reading the field really well,” Kirt Benedict said. “I always thought of her as a defensive player, then last weekend I saw her up with us taking shots on goal. I was impressed.”

For the most part, Kuntz has been a defensive player, but she has proved her self worthy at any position.

“She started the season as sweeper,” Morett said, “but since she has played back, left wing, middie, but her main focus is defense.”

Morett started the season experimenting with new field systems. She used one system in particular, which utilized a position new to the field hockey team — sweeper. Kuntz was the perfect person for the position and as a part of the ongoing experiment, Morett decided that field system was not optimal for the Lady Lions. She eliminated it, and subsequently the sweeper position.

So, Kuntz, who was a starting defensive back last season, was without a position. Kuntz needed to work her way back into the starting line up.

During the week of practice, prior to the second Iowa game, junior defender Becca Main dislocated her shoulder. Kuntz was her replacement for the big game.

“I want to be the first to commend her,” senior co-captain Amy Stairs said. “She came back real strong. A lot of people don’t come out strong after being out for a while. Sharon snapped right back, and even a step up.”

Stairs said she felt the time off for Kuntz was to her benefit, and may even have served as an eye opener to help her re-assess her goals.

Since that time, Kuntz has become a big play producer for the team. Unfortunately for her, the stats don’t show who starts the big plays, but who finishes them. Kuntz, unfazed by this, said she will do what is best for the team, and try to have fun in the process.

“You’ve got to be relaxed when you are out there,” Kuntz said. “If you think too much it isn’t fun anymore, and that is what sports are about.”

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.”

The Icers sent the Thundering Herd cowering home with their tails between their legs this weekend as the high flying bunch outscored the Penn State football team, when they destroyed Buffalo 30-2 in two games.

Coming into the weekend, Icer Coach Joe Battista said he knew the Thundering Herd was a young, rebuilding team, but was not sure what to expect from them.

“This is their first game,” Battista said, “They are young, but look what we did with a young team when we won the National Championship.”

The Icers, not knowing what to expect, came at the Thundering Herd full force. The Herd was able to resist the momentum, only until about 15 minutes into the first period. From that point on, the Icers blew by the Herd without any resistance. The Icers annihilated Buffalo 20-0 on Friday and creamed them 10-2 Saturday.

“I think they gave up,” said senior forward Chris Cervellero after Friday’s blowout. “We didn’t know what to expect, and we were so fired up to be playing at home.”

Of the 30 goals, 20 of them were scored in the first match when the Icers registered their second shut out of the season. Amongst the 20 goals on Friday, four Icers finished the night with hat tricks: Andy Strasser, Steve Karl, Chris Cervellero and Ross Cowan. Cervellero’s clinched his hat trick with two quick goals in the last ten seconds.

“I felt bad,” Cervellero said. “We weren’t trying to run up the score, but I am not the type of player who lets up in situations. That’s just the way I play hockey.”

Even the Icers’ checking line got into the scoring action. They scored seven goals collectively, and nine assists to boot.

“I mean, when your checking line scores seven goals in one game,” Battista said, “you know you’ve got a lot of firepower, and can give a lot of different offensive looks.”

The obvious lack of competition gave the Icers a chance to find some positive use for the time. The games provided Battista with a chance to look at some of the less experienced players in game situations.

“. . .I don’t think these games hurt us.” Battista said. “We got to look at some guys who hadn’t played yet, and to try some new systems we’ll need later on in the year.”

Battista started Saturday’s game testing new systems and plays to give some different looks to the scouters.

“It’s just like a football team,” Battista said. “If you give them the same look every week they will start to catch on. So we worked on some different lines and systems. I found some I liked, and others that still need some work.”

Despite all of the experimentation, the Icers cranked out 10 more goals to Buffalo’s two.

Battista was excited about what he saw this weekend, but is hesitant about being prematurely excited.

“We don’t know if it is for real yet,” Battista said, “It is easy for us to get excited, we’ve had over 60 shots on goals two games in a row. The season is young, and our toughest competition is yet to come.”

Senior goalkeeper John Gray finds that he is the key to the Icer’s run and gun offense, and he does not even have to leave the goal.

Icers Coach Joe Battista cited the philosophy of a fellow coach of building his team “from the net out.” He feels this is a solid foundation for accomplishing what he wants to do with his offense.

“We have a lot of confidence in Johnny,” Battista said. “We couldn’t run this type of offense if we couldn’t count on him to rise to the occasion.”

The Icers are placing a strong emphasis on a fast attacking offense, but to do this they must have a strong back up at the goal in case of a breakdown.

“I look forward to the challenge,” Gray said. “The run and gun will produce a lot of big goals for us, but sometimes that leaves the defense exposed.”

Battista feels that this places a lot of pressure on Gray, but he also feels that Gray is up for the challenge.

“He slipped a little last season,” Battista said, “but I think he is just waiting for the right opportunity to come back. If I didn’t think he could rise to the occasion I wouldn’t do it.”

Gray already established a great start, against Erie College, he recorded his eighth career shutout to set a Penn State record. Gray said that he is not content to stop there. He said there is still a lot that he wants to do.

He will have his chance to start tonight, and again tomorrow afternoon, as the Icers face former ICHL foe the University of Buffalo.

“We are all pumped up for the occasion,” Gray said. “It is the last home opener we will have, and we are going to come out very intense.”

The Thundering Herd is a young, rebuilding team, but has every intention of coming at the Icers in stampeed fashion.

“I have no illusions,” said Buffalo Coach Richard Brooks. “Penn State is a strong team and they will be very tough. We are a young team, but I am confident we will do our very best. We’re not comming to lose.”

Gray said he likes the competition, and will not take any team lightly.

“They always play us tough,” Gray said. “I like that kind of hockey, but we cannot underestimate anybody. We have the potential to be one of the greatest Penn State teams ever, and we are going to play every game as if it were our last.”

Playing among greatness is not an unfamiliar feeling for Gray. In the spring of 1990, Gray’s freshmen year at Penn State, the Icers won the National Championship.

Gray’s time here at Penn State has been some what of the fairy tale fashion. In his freshman year, he coasted through the regular season with only 5 starts, and worked hard at making an impression. That impression came in the form of winning the MVP in the Nationals, and led the Icers to winning the National Championship.

“It was a great thing,” Gray said. “It was an incredible feeling to win it for the older guys.”

Gray came into the following season with the flair he finished with. In his sophomore year, he broke the record for the number of single season wins.

“Everybody expected it of me,” he said. “I guess I expected it of my self.”

Gray even added his effort to the offense, by chalking up a few assists to his credit.

“I like to play the puck,” Gray said. “I like to be a part of goals that mean something.”

Battista said he remembered one particular goal where Gray made a pass through to the opposing blue line for an assist on a breakaway goal.

“He’s got some fabulous stick play,” Battista said. “It really adds something to our defense.”

Gray said he will do whatever it takes to win this year, and has every intention of leading his team to another National Championship.

“We have the potential to be great,” Gray said. “I think we can be one of the best Penn State teams ever.”

After suffering two disheartening losses last weekend, the Lady Lions find themselves in a must-win situation if they hope to keep their dreams, and make it to the NCAAs.

The Lady Lions fell from No. 3 to No. 5 in the NCAA rankings this week after last weekend’s two near misses. The Lady Lions gave No. 1 Old Dominion a run for their rank, in a 2-1 loss on Saturday. On the other end of the scale, the Lady Lions lulled through their 2-1 loss to No. 4 North Carolina.

“We had a bad weekend,” senior co-captian Jen Stewart said. “We put our selves in this position, but we have the talent to rebound.”

The rebound process begins this weekend as the Lady Lions travel to Michigan State, and will also square off with No 17 Northwestern while there.

“We had a great week of practice,” junior Chris McGinley said. “If we play like we practiced, we will have a great weekend. As for the rankings, we don’t pay much attention to them. We just have to play to win.”

It wasn’t a lack of talent that beat the Lady Lions, and the individual stats reflect that. Despite the drop in the team ranks, the individual statistics still rank among he tops in the Big Ten.

Freshmen goalkeeper Shelly Meister is currently ranked second among the conference’s goalkeepers. She has a seasonal save percentage of .837, and already has five shutouts to her credit.

On the other end of the stick, junior Chris McGinley has been topping the scoring records for both the Lady Lions and the Big Ten. McGinley, last weekend scored a pair of goals, making her the fourth all-time scorer in Lady Lion history. She has 51 career goals, and just passed her Coach Char Morett at 50.

McGinley is also chipping away at the record for the number of goals scored in a single season. She has 21 this season, and the standing record is 24. The Lady Lions still have two weeks in the regular season.

In the Big Ten, the junior has maintained a steady third behind two players from first place Iowa. The stats, however, are not important to McGinley.

“Those are just numbers,” McGinley said. “They don’t mean anything to me. What is important is that the team wins.”

It’s safe to say that the Lady Lions have put themselves in a must win situation for the rest of the season, if they hope to get a buy into the NCAA tournament.

“We did not have to abandon our goals,” junior defender Becca Main said. “We just have to concentrate on them more, and that starts with this weekend. We will just take it a step at a time from there.”

As a part of their run and gun philosophy this year, the Icers look to create some big scoring opportunities in penalty situations.

Icer Coach Joe Battista feels that his team has the speed and tenacity to score short-handed goals, imagine what they could do for power plays.

“When other teams are a man up, they tend to kick it into slow gear,” Battista said. “Our penalty kill is going to work hard to take advantage of this, and catch the power play off guard.”

Senior Dave Murphy feels the Icers have the experience and skill to capitalize on key opportunities even when they are a man down.

“It fits well with our run and gun,” Murphy said. “We’re out to force some errors.”

Lary O’Byrne said their defensemen have a lot of reach, and will be able to steal many passes. With these steals will come some breakaway goals, and take away a lot of goals from the opposing power play.

This year the Icers are very offensive minded, and are taking some big chances in using an offensive penalty kill. Battista, and the rest of the team, has plenty of faith in senior goalie John Gray, and are willing to take these chances.

“You’ve got to have faith in your goalie before you take chances like we are,” Battista said. “Sometimes we will get burnt, but we know that Johnny will be there to break it up.”

Murphy said if they remember to be defensive while taking those chances, they will not be burned as much. On the power play, however, the attack is key to the Icers.

Battista is using two separate power play units, the White unit is known as the physical group, and the Blue is the finesse unit. Battista places great confidence in both units.

The Blue unit will be using an Umbrella formation, which will help them to set up the shots, and will put key players in position to get the rebounds. Another key is to spread the defense out by making a lot of cross-ice shots. This can either yield the big goals, or the big break up.

“It is a high risk, high reward situation,” Battista said. “If it works, we’re going to score. If it breaks down, we have to move on them, but I have the faith in these guys to take that chance.”

The Blue unit is loaded with the agile players with the delicate stick skills: Scott Mangene, Ross Cowan and newcomer Rob Keegan to name a few.

The White unit is more the bump and grind unit, and is loaded with the more physical players, who will attack the defense straight on. They use a lower umbrella, and compact the opposing kill team. The Blue unit will take any shot given, and will manipulate the defenders until a break occurs.

“We take any shot we can get,” Murphy said. “Our job is to reek havok, beat them down, and crash the goal.”

A key to the lower umbrella is distracting the goalie. This job is bestowed upon Murphy, who has been likened to a linebacker on skates. He said he skates from side to side, and even circles around the goal, and forces a defender to be on him at all times. If this defender were not present, Murphy would be in an ideal position to score. Instead the defender is forced to trail Murphy, which also shields the goalie’s view. Either way the White unit is in a position to create the scoring opportunities.

Battista is excited about this year’s icers, and feels if they work, they will be a force to reckon with.

“If these guys keep working, they have the potential of greatness,” Battista said. “I think we can have a great offense whether we are a man up or a man down, and we’ve got the defense to back it up.”

Bad breaks have been the Lion tamer this seaon, and this weekend it finally broke the field hockey team’s backs. The Lady Lions lost two home games to Old Dominion and North Carolina, both by 2-1 margins.

The Lady Lions went from playing the best they’ve looked this season against No. 1 Old Dominion, to a lackluster performance, at best, against No. 6 North Carolina. The common factor for both games, however, was that bad breaks were what beat the Lady Lions in both matches.

“We just don’t get the breaks,” defender Jill Pearsall said after the UNC loss. “It isn’t like these teams are dominating us. When we lose, it is bad luck.”

The Lady Lions vowed to stick to their guns.

“We are a young team, and so we have to be aggressive,” Char Morett said. “Prevent defenses tend to give up more big plays than normal defenses do, so we decided to stick to our game.”

Just like last year’s Penn State-ODU matchup, Chris McGinley, with assists from Amy Stairs and Jen Stewart, hooked up on the McGinley-Co-Captian-connection.

The Lady Monarch attack was on fire, but the Lady Lions covered them like a blanket to smother it.

“Our team defense looked great,” defender Becca Main said. “I think we realized that we have 11 players, and they have 11 players, and it doesn’t make a difference who they are.”

Old Dominion put a lot of pressure on freshman goalkeeper Shelly Meister, and she proved that she could play with the best.

“Their shots were coming really fast,” Meister said. “They had me real nervous at first, but then I saw that I was stopping them.”

It took the Lady Monarchs until late in the first half to score against the Lady Lion defense. From that point until late in the game, the match became a stalemate between Penn State’s defense and the Lady Monarch attack.

With a harder pass here, or a different play there, the game could have gone either way. With less than ten minutes left, ODU scored, and did not leave time for the Lady Lions to recover.

The Lady Lions were not distraught over the loss to ODU, as a matter of fact, they were quite happy with the level of play.

They had hoped to carry this intensity to their match against UNC, but the Lady Lions played a flat, emotionless game.

“We were a step behind them the entire match,” Morett said. “They wanted to win more than we did. If we don’t play like winners, we don’t deserve to.”

Less than two minutes into the game, North Carolina’s Sharon Moore scored on a rebound from a penalty corner. The Lady Lions showed a brief glimmer of life, and countered with the McGinley-Co-Captain-connection.

McGinley scored on a penalty corner to tie the match. That, however, was the last of the scoring.

Then, in the latest segment of Penn State’s bad breaks, North Carolina’s Kelly Staley caught Meister off guard, when she ran out of the cage to break up a pass. Meister missed the ball, and Staley stumbled. By some fluke, the ball rolled in front of Staley while she was down, and Meister was still out of the cage. Staley slammed the ball into the net.

“We’ve had a lot of bad luck this season, especially in big games,” Sharon Kuntz said. “Sooner or later we will have to get a break.”

Old Dominion. Tomorrow. A showdown, on the Holuba Hall turf at noon.

The No. 1 undefeated Lady Monarchs come to Penn State tomorrow riding high on a 52-game winning streak and the No. 3 Lady Lions are preparing to bring that streak to a roaring halt.

“We’ve got them at home, and we’re going to go at them with everything we’ve got,” Coach Char Morett said. “We’ve got nothing to lose.”

The ODU wrecking ball has been known to crash down on opponent’s offenses, while trouncing their defense.

“We just don’t care who they are,” said senior co-captian Jen Stewart. “They could be aliens, it doesn’t matter. We are playing to win and that is what we are going to do.”

And the Lady Lions have vivid memories of last year’s 5-2 trouncing down in Norfolk, Va. This year’s game won’t be any easier for Penn State.

Lady Monarch goalkeepers have 14 shutouts this season, while their attack has outscored opponents by an astounding 113-2. ODU has run-up over 10 goals in a match three times this season against unranked opponents — their highest output was a 14 goal ego-booster against 0-4-1 Stanford. It seems that no victory is too small for those mighty Lady Monarchs down in Norfolk.

“Why embarrass a team when everybody already knows you’re good,” Sharon Kuntz said. “Is a 14-0 win any better than a 3-0 win? Doing that doesn’t prove anything.”

Kirt Bennedict agreed. “It just isn’t fair to run up a score like that,” she said. “It ruins the competition. A win is a win.”

ODU is not anticipating such an easy victory over Penn State, and knows it will have to work to keep with the Lady Lions.

“Penn State will be one of our toughest games,” said ODU wing Dina Borrelli. “It is a very big game for both teams, and we’re going to have to stick to our game.”

ODU Coach Beth Anders refused to comment on the game, and has since told her team not to discuss anything with the media until further notice.

The Lady Lions, at No. 3, will be the highest ranked team to face No. 1 Old Dominion (16-0). Earlier this season ODU beat Maryland, who was ranked No. 3 at the time, but since has fallen to No. 9.

Kelli James leads the potent Lady Monarch’s in points with 24 goals and 40 assists followed by Jill Reeve who has two goals and 39 assists. Laura Knorr leads the team with 26 goals and Maaike Hibrand has 25. The stats, however, drop off significantly after those four players, and it shows that Anders doesn’t uses substitutions often during a game.

A quick look at the Lady Lion stats, however, shows they utilize a lot of substitutions. This depth means Morrett can call on a set of fresh legs and count on the quality of play to remain at a high level.

“At any time you can pick any one of the girls off of the bench and know that they are going to get the job done.” Stewart said. “Everybody is ready to go in at any given time. We have been playing well the past few games, and when we’re doing good, everybody is up.”

Right now, the Lady Lions are playing an emotional brand of field hockey that could be difficult to match by a team, who has yet to be challenged.

Penn State has proved worthy to challenges from higher ranked teams, and has matched strides with No. 2 Iowa twice already.

Morett feels that despite losing to Iowa in both meetings, the lessons learned were the most important aspects.

“It takes a good challenge to help a team find what it needs to improve,” Morett said.

She feels her team knows what it is capable of doing, and what it needs to do before tomorrow’s ODU game.

“I was very pleased with the play last weekend,” Morett said, “and I would like to see it carry over to Old Dominion. We want to jump on them early, and keep them down.”

Kuntz agreed that Penn State has been playing solid hockey, and feels that the Lady Lions are the team to crush the ODU wrecking ball.

“If anybody is going to beat Old Dominion, it is going to be us,” Kuntz said.

Junior field hockey player Chris McGinley is very goal oriented — literally.

Yet to her the stats mean very little.

“I hate that stuff,” McGinley said of records and statistics. “I play to have fun, and if I make a goal it is for the team, not for a record. I always set goals for myself, but they aren’t for my benefit. It is how I can best help the team.”

She is the team’s leading goal scorer with 19 goals this season and is only four goals from breaking the single-season scoring record. McGinley has done this in only 13 games.

Most would expect that McGinley would be pretty excited about all of these accomplishments, and should be counting the goals until she breaks the next record.

Not McGinley.

McGinley is modest to say the least, and does not like to talk about herself. She did, however, have a lot to say about the Lady Lions’ bout with Old Dominion tomorrow and No. 6 North Carolina on Sunday.

“I am realy psyched about Old Dominion,” McGinley said. “We were close to beating them last year, and I think we can do it this year.”

Last year, the Lady Lions played Old Dominion in their first game of the season. McGinley scored the first goal, and in a fit of enthusiasm, she jumped straight into the air, and did a bicycle kick.

“I was so excited,” McGinley said. “I thought I was going to jump over the cage. It made me realize that we could get by them, and I would like to see the same happen this year. We are going to go crazy tomorrow. They have everything to lose, we’ve got nothing to lose.”

If she starts out the scoring like she did last year, McGinley will tie her coach, Char Morett at No. 4 on the all time scorers list. McGinley has 49 career goals, and she still has an entire year of eligibilty to top that list. McGinley said that this or any other record is just not a priority of hers.

“If she were concerned with the stats, that would be more pressure on her,” co-captain Jen Stewart said. “If she felt the pressure, she would have to try to score, and then I don’t think she would score as much.”

To her teammates, McGinley seems relaxed and in control.

“I am so jealous of her,” said her roommate and fellow junior Kirt Benedict. “She is always so relaxed, everything just comes to her so naturally.”

McGinley sees things quite differently, and said she is constantly thinking when she is on the field.

“I don’t know about being relaxed,” McGinley said. “Field hockey is a very tense sport for me. I am constantly thinking of my strengths and weaknesses, and I try to work on them every time I touch the ball.”

McGinley must do a lot of work. Any time a ball is in motion, McGinley is usually somewhere close.

“She comes out of nowhere and makes things happen,” Stewart said. “She is always where the action is.”

Rather than bragging about her record breaking skills, and her fantastic stick play, McGinley is just thankful that she has the opportunity to play for Penn State. She above all wants to make sure she keeps the fun in field hockey.

“When it becomes anything but fun, it is work not sports,” McGinley said. “I think a lot of people forget about that, but that is what it is for me.”

After starring in high school, Danielle Annibale had a tough time making the adjustment from being a big fish in a small pond to a little fish in a big pond.

When the forward on the field hockey team came to Penn State, she found that she was no longer the best player on the team. She was intimidated by the big school, and saw just how easy it can be to get lost in the crowd.

“I was just one more person here,” Annibale said. “I was really intimidated by the numbers. I came out of a class of 170 people, and this was a huge shock to me.”

It is all too easy to go astray when you are away from home for the first time. Nobody cares if you go to class or not, and there is nobody back at your place to tell you to stay home and study. Without discipline, the other activities, including sports, begin to lose their priority.

“I did everything but what mattered and I paid for it,” Annibale said. “And I’m still making up for it.”

But since those rough times, Annibale has turned herself around and has become a major contributor to the field hockey team.

And she is playing with a new vigor — one of her biggest tests will come this weekend when the No. 3 Lady Lions face undefeated No. 1 Old Dominion.

Dina Borelli, one of Annibale’s best friends and teammates from Bishop Eustace High School in New Jersey, is the starting wing for the Monarchs, and she anxiously awaits playing against her friend.

Annibale recalled talking to Borelli as a freshman.

“She was always so into field hockey, and I just thought she needed to get a life,” Annibale said. “But now that I’m playing, I can’t say enough about it.”

Borelli agreed, saying field hockey is all they talk about now. She welcomes the change in Annibale.

“They always called me the hockey geek,” Borelli said, “Now Danielle is the hockey geek. That is all she ever talks about, but I love it.”

When they played in high school, Annibale was always on the attack, and Borelli was always the defender. Now Borelli has been moved to left wing, and will compete with Annibale for the entire match.

Borelli said she has noticed Annibale’s change in attitude, and said she cannot wait to compete against her.

Coach Char Morett said she has also noticed the change in Annibale and she is impressed.

“A look at Danielle’s time here is really encouraging,” Morett said. “She has turned herself around, and has become a productive part of the team. That shows a lot about a person. There are a lot of distractions here at Penn State. It is easy to get lost.”

In high school, Annibale was a leading force on her prep school’s field hockey team. She was the leading scorer during her senior year, and was selected for the first-team on the All-Parochial League that was ranked No. 1 in South Jersey.

Coming from such success made the transition to college that much tougher for Annibale.

She had trouble walking into huge classes where nobody knew or cared who she was, and she felt shut out. She took the route many freshmen in that situation do — avoid the awkward situations, and do things that get you known.

Fortunately for Annibale, she realized what she was doing to herself, and saw her goals moving further out of reach. Since that time, Annibale sports a grade point average higher than 3.0, and has become one of the most aggressive players for the Lady Lions.

“She started out and made some mistakes,” senior Becca Main said. “But she’s pulled it all together, and has a lot she wants to do before she graduates.”

Last year, Annibale was high on Morret’s sub list and liked what she was feeling. She decided succeeding in field hockey was what she wanted to do, and knew she had a lot of work ahead.

She worked hard all summer, and came out this fall determined to earn herself a starting position.

“She came out with new life this semester,” Morett said, “I think she’s finally decided for herself that she can play at this level. She’s worked real hard to get where she’s at.”