No. 6 Penn State field hockey (7-1, 2-0 Big Ten) defeated Michigan State (4-3, 0-2 Big Ten) on Friday night by a comfortable margin of 4-0. Four different players recorded goals for the Nittany Lions, as the team spread the love offensively while maintaining defensive control.

Head coach Charlene Morett-Curtiss’ team recorded its second win at home this season after spending nearly a month on the road.

How It Happened

Penn State came out firing to start the game. The team opened the game with five minutes of strong possession with multiple chances to score, but the visitors stood strong. After a brief Spartan attack, the Nittany Lions scored when Carly Gannon tucked the ball inside a poorly guarded goal.

The Nittany Lions’ defensive unit held its own well in the first quarter. Michigan State was rarely able to work the ball into an attacking position and only took one shot in the opening 15 minutes. Meanwhile, Penn State had rattled off six shots and earned four penalty corners.

The home team continued its dominance early in the second quarter when Mackenzie Allessie powered a shot past Michigan State goalie Monique Jardell to make it 2-0.

After Allessie’s goal, the Spartans flipped a switch. They earned three penalty corners less than two minutes after Penn State doubled its lead, but failed to capitalize.

After a more back-and-forth second quarter, Penn State took a 3-0 lead. Sophia Gladieux dribbled the ball parallel to the Spartans’ goal before slotting her ninth goal of the season.

The Nittany Lions stayed in control after halftime, but Michigan State clearly gained some confidence. While the Spartans didn’t register a shot on goal during the third quarter, they held Penn State to just one of its own until the final two minutes of play.

Anna Simon sealed the deal for Penn State early in the fourth quarter, chipping the ball into Michigan State’s goal from a penalty corner with just over 12 minutes remaining.

Neither team made an impact in the remainder of the match, as Penn State closed out its seventh win of the season.

Takeaways

• After failing to record a shutout in its first six games, Brie Barraco and her defense haven’t allowed a goal in their last two matches. The No. 6 team in the country just keeps getting better.
• Dominance is an understatement for how Penn State played on Friday. The Nittany Lions recorded four times the number of shots as their opponent, as well as more than three times the number of shots on goal. Even without all the stats, the eye test showed that the home side clearly was the better team.

What’s Next

The Nittany Lions will stay at home for a battle against Big Ten rival Ohio State at noon on Sunday, September 25.