No. 7 Penn State field hockey (12-5, 6-3 Big Ten) dropped a double-overtime heartbreaker 3-2 to No. 9 Iowa (9-7, 4-2 Big Ten) on Sunday afternoon in the first round of the 2018 Big Ten tournament.

The Nittany Lions had nine corners and 18 shots, but it wasn’t enough to knock the Hawkeyes out of the tournament for the second consecutive season. Anna Simon and Moira Putsch scored for the Nittany Lions, but Iowa’s Anthe Nijziel scored the game-winning goal with 4:47 to play in the second overtime period.

Jenny Rizzo made five saves in the loss.

How It Happened

The Nittany Lions got off to a rocky start on Sunday afternoon. Aurelia Meijer asked for a video review on a play that she thought was a penalty corner. The original call on the field stood, so Iowa took over possession of the ball at the 16-yard line.

Penn State bounced back nicely when Gini Bramley took the ball all the way up the left sideline and came across the goal line. She sent a perfect pass to Moira Putsch, who stood ready next to the right post and tapped the ball in around the goalie for a 1-0 lead with 12:49 left in the first half.

The first half ended with the Nittany Lions in the lead, but the Hawkeyes appeared to have tied the game early in the second half. They managed to send the ball to the back of the net, but it was overturned due to height after another video review.

Two minutes later, Iowa was awarded another corner. Maddy Murphy took a shot at the top of the circle, and Ellie Holley deflected it into the left corner to tie the game just over 10 minutes into the second half. The Hawkeyes added a second goal 7:12 after their opening goal to take a 2-1 lead with 17:22 to play in the second half.

Penn State continued to push for an equalizer in the later stages of the second half and finally found one with 74 seconds to play. Anna Simon — the Nittany Lions’ leading goal-scorer this season — once again found the back of the net on a penalty corner to tie the game at two and force overtime. The penalty corner was one of five the Nittany Lions got in the second half as part of their comeback bid.

The first overtime period finished without a goal despite a combined five shots between the teams, but Iowa’s Anthe Nijziel buried the game-winner with 4:47 to play in the second overtime period to knock Penn State out of the Big Ten tournament.

Player Of The Game

Jenny Rizzo | Senior | Goalkeeper

In her final Big Ten game as a Nittany Lion, Rizzo played aggressively despite conceding the golden goal in double overtime. She made five saves and was a presence in the net all game.

What’s Next

Penn State is out of the Big Ten tournament, but they could still potentially qualify for the NCAA tournament via an at-large bid. The national tournament will begin on November 7.