Ups, then downs in F. hockey weekend

By BRAD STRATTON
Collegian Staff Writer

The Penn State field hockey team experienced an up-and-down weekend, dominating one opponent while stumbling past the other.

The No. 3 Lady Lions utilized a solid offensive performance to defeat No. 10 James Madison 5-1 Friday at Delaware. Two days later, they edged No. 11 Ohio State 2-1 at Bigler Athletic Complex in a game that was more of an individual effort than a team effort.

Leading the way to victory were the Lions three top scorers. Redshirt junior Traci Anselmo scored four goals, which included a hat trick against James Madison. Junior Maegan Galie added one goal and five assists, and senior Tracey Larson contributed with one goal and four assists.

Larson's one goal would prove to be the game-winner against Ohio State.

The Lions (12-2, 4-1 Big Ten) almost didn't make it to Delaware, arriving at Rullo Stadium only a few minutes before game time.

"The bus was late," Lions senior Mandy Robinson said. "We didn't get there until five minutes before the game was supposed to start, and we just took that and ran with it."

Galie opened the scoring with an unassisted goal with 18:02 remaining in the first half. The Dukes responded with the tying goal when Elise van Ballegooie scored with 9:02 remaining in the half.

Penn State would strike back just 30 seconds later, as Galie assisted on a goal by sophomore Meredith Shulzitski to give the Lions the lead for good.

Anselmo scored on a penalty corner with 56 seconds remaining in the first half. She would score two more times in the second half, all three of her goals assisted by Larson and Galie.

James Madison (9-4, 1-0 Colonial Athletic Association) would manage to take 10 shots on goal, but Penn State redshirt freshman goalkeeper Heidi Leuchte was up to the task, making six saves.

"That was one of the most fun games we've played in a while," Robinson said. "We played our kind of game. We played a good passing game."

The Lions returned home to host Ohio State on Sunday in a Big Ten matchup. Before the game, the crowd of 308 was treated to the Lions' vocal stylings when a mishap caused the national anthem tape to deteriorate.

The Lions picked up where the music left off, singing the remainder of the national anthem.

"How embarrassing," Robinson said. "We have no singing talent whatsoever."

Penn State stumbled through the game the same way it stumbled through the national anthem, struggling to get shots inside the circle. Although it finished the game with 23 shots, almost all of those came from the Lions' 21 penalty corners.

On a penalty corner just less than six minutes into the game, Anselmo put the Lions on the scoreboard with her fourth goal of the weekend. Once again, Larson and Galie assisted on the goal.

Larson would add an insurance goal, pushing the ball past Buckeyes goalkeeper Gillian Batey on a penalty stroke with 18:55 remaining in the game.

Ohio State (9-3, 2-3) closed the gap to 2-1 when Buckeyes midfielder Marije van Nouhuys assisted on a goal by midfielder Katie Hobson with 3:56 remaining.

But the Buckeyes would not threaten again.

Batey was forced to make 19 saves for Ohio State, breaking the Bigler record for most saves by an opposing goalkeeper.

On the defensive side, the Lions allowed only one shot on goal.

But the Lions wasted numerous opportunities to put the game away early, and didn't play like the team that had won 11 games beforehand.

"We won 2-1 on squeakers," Larson said. "We couldn't finish on our shots; we weren't disciplined. We're a passing team, and I think people tried to be one-on-one and that's not how we play."

The Lions return to action next weekend, hosting conference foes Northwestern (4-8, 0-5) and No. 5 Iowa (11-1, 4-1) at Bigler Athletic Complex.