No. 6 Penn State field hockey (9-2, 4-1 Big Ten) took care of business against Indiana (8-4, 1-1 Big Ten), winning 4-0 in Bloomington, Indiana.

Penn State jumped out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to Mackenzie Allessie scoring on a penalty shot in the first two minutes. Sophia Gladieux scored later in the quarter to increase the lead to two.

In the second half, Gladieux scored again thanks to an assist from Allessie to make it a 3-0 game. Gladieux would score her third goal of the game early in the fourth quarter for her second hat trick of the year.

How It Happened

Right from the start, Penn State came to play, scoring the game’s first goal off of a penalty stroke goal in the second minute of the game. Mackenzie Allessie was easily able to score to give the Nittany Lions the early lead.

The offense continued to shine, scoring again in the first quarter after a great assist by Jemma Punch set up a goal for Sophia Gladieux. Penn State was able to keep its 2-0 lead after the first quarter.

The second period of play didn’t see much offense from either team early on, with Penn State only getting one shot off in the entire quarter. Indiana threatened late in the quarter with two penalty corners and two shots, however, both were unsuccessful. Penn State led 2-0 after the first half.

The second half started quickly with Indiana firing and missing two shots and an unsuccessful penalty corner. Anna Simon was able to lead the defense in preventing Indiana from scoring.

After a brief period of no action, Gladieux was able to score again midway through the third quarter for her second goal of the game. At the 47-minute mark, Gladieux scored yet again thanks to assists from Allessie and Simon for her second hat trick of the year to increase the lead to 4-0.

Four goals would seem to be enough, as Penn State recorded its fourth shutout in its last five games, improving its record to 9-2.

Takeaways

• The defense was phenomenal today, having a bounce-back game after blowing the lead Friday night against Northwestern. It was an easy day for Brie Barraco and Lauren Delgado in goal, as the defense only gave up three shots on goal and eight shots in total to record a shutout.
• Anna Simon was all over the field today, breaking up multiple offensive drives by Indiana to help the defense preserve the shutout.
• Sophia Gladieux had a great day, earning her second hat trick of the season for the Nittany Lions. She continues to lead this Nittany Lions team in their chase for a national championship and, for her, a possible conference player of the year.

What’s Next

The Nittany Lions return home for another huge Big Ten matchup against No. 3 Iowa at 6 p.m. on Friday, October 7.