No. 4 Penn State field hockey (13-2, 5-1) defeated Kent State (6-7) 3-0 Sunday afternoon at Murphy-Mellis Field in Kent.

It was another dominant performance from Penn State, outshooting Kent State 21-7 with 13 of its shots on goal.

Sophia Gladieux yet again showed out for the Nittany Lions, scoring the first and third goals of the game. Anna Simon scored her fifth goal of the year early in the second period, and Brie Barraco recorded another shutout.

How It Happened

Penn State was aggressive right from the jump, getting two shots on goal in the first minute off of two penalty corners from Mackenzie Allessie. Both were unsuccessful, but not even a minute later, Penn State got on the board.

Sophia Gladieux opened up the scoring for the Nittany Lions off a great pass by Allessie and a phenomenal shot gave them the early 1-0 lead.

The rest of the first period didn’t see any more goals scored, but Penn State’s dominant presence was still felt as it outshot the Golden Flashes 12-1 in the first quarter.

At the start of the second period, Penn State got another penalty corner and was able to capitalize on this once thanks to a great shot by midfielder Anna Simon, extending the lead to 2-0.

After that goal, it was the same as the first quarter with little offense. Neither team was able to get a shot on goal until three minutes before the end of the first half. Kent State, however, was attempting to cut the lead to one before the half ended.

Two minutes before half, the Golden Flashes shot three consecutive shots on goal, but senior goalie Brie Barraco made three outstanding saves to keep the lead at 2-0 after the first 30 minutes.

Penn State had an opportunity at the start of the second half to score in the first few minutes of the new period. Gladieux was able to get a shot off from an Allessie penalty corner, but Kent State Goalie Cecile Van Eijck made a very nice save to prevent the lead from increasing to three.

Period three saw very little offense for both teams, as only a combined five total shots were taken. Kent State had another late push with shots from Sydney Washburn and Maria Cambra Soler, but neither was successful in keeping the score of the game 2-0.

Midway through the fourth period Penn State had another chance to extend its lead with an Allessie penalty corner. After a great pass, Gladieux yet again smoked a shot into the goal for her second goal of the game and 18th goal of the year. The Nittany Lions were able to hold on for their sixth shutout of the season and win 3-0.

Takeaways

• Brie Barraco looked great today, making big save after big save. The senior goalie made five saves, three of which took place in the course of 20 seconds.
• Sophia Gladieux looked great again, scoring two goals and bringing her season total to 18, which is tied with her career high.
• Anna Simon scored her fifth goal of the year, her third goal in the last four games.
• With only two games remaining in the regular season for the Nittany Lions, picking up big wins will be key for momentum as they look ahead for a possible National Championship run.

What’s Next

Penn State will return home to play No. 2 Maryland for its final home regular season game at 6 p.m. on Friday, October 21.