Youth will serve on this year’s women’s field hockey team, but that may not necessarily be a bad thing with the talent coming into the program.

Coach Charlene Morett starts off her 24th season after coming off a disappointing 7-13 record last year after starting off ranked in the top-15 in the nation. While ending the season on a high note with an upset of Ohio State and a hard-fought defeat at the hands of Indiana in the Big Ten tournament, this new team will have to make an impact of its own.

Leading scorer Kelsey Amy returns along with captains Daneen Zug (yes, the sister of THE namesake of the chicken zugget) and Lauren Alloway. Zug and Alloway, both defenders, will be the quarterbacks of the team, communicating strategy with their teammates in front of them.

Morett had great things to say about a couple of the incoming freshmen, though:

We also have two freshmen, Lauren Purvis and Brittany Grzywacz who played on the United States U-19 team who bring a lot of scoring potential to the team. Brittany has an arsenal of corner shots and Lauren can create scoring opportunities in the circle.

The Nittany Lions once again have a tough schedule playing powers Old Dominion, Virginia, and Connecticut right from the get-go before heading into the Big Ten slate. With the injection of talent being brought into the program, look for this team to surprise a few people as the season progresses. They play a school-record 11 home games this season, so make it down to the Penn State Field Hockey Complex for a few and support the girls!

Schedule

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