No. 16 Penn State field hockey (7-7, 1-4 Big Ten) fell to No. 7 Michigan (11-1, 4-0 Big Ten) on Friday afternoon.

After going down early in the first quarter, the Nittany Lions couldn’t keep up with the Wolverines. Michigan constantly intercepted passes and defensive miscues, which prevented Penn State from getting into the game.

How It Happened

Penn State started the game off quickly with a chance in the first minute. The official blew the play dead for a foul, resulting in the Wolverines immediately taking possession and pushing heavily up front. A quick pass in the circle led to a Michigan shot that beat keeper Aby Deverka, putting the Nittany Lions down early.

After a couple of minutes of both teams tussling for possession, the Wolverines initiated another attack in the circle. A series of elusive passes landed at Michigan’s Alana Richardson’s stick, where she poked the ball past Deverka to double Michigan’s lead in the first quarter.

After Michigan’s second goal in the first quarter, the Nittany Lions sparked two counterattacks that quickly dissipated once the Wolverines caught up on defense.

With 10 minutes remaining in the first half, forward Sophia Gladieux spun around two Wolverine defenders just outside of the circle to spark an attack, but the subsequent pass was intercepted immediately.

Penn State won a penalty corner with 27 seconds left in the half. Morgan McMenamin passed it to Gladiuex at the top of the circle, who unleashed a powerful shot that missed the net by inches. The Nittany Lions went into halftime only down 2-0 after a nightmarish first quarter.

The second half started with Michigan winning a penalty corner. The shot was deflected by the Nittany Lion defense, but the Wolverines continued their pressure near the circle. Michigan’s Abby Tamer strong-armed four Penn State defenders to win another penalty corner in the opening five minutes of the half. Tamer got a shot off on the penalty corner, but Deverka stood strong and registered her first save of the game. Another penalty corner directly afterward resulted in Tamer’s shot finally going in, putting the Nittany Lions down 3-0 in the third quarter.

The subsequent Michigan attack led to more shots from the Wolverines, but Deverka magically made back-to-back-to-back saves to keep the deficit to three.

Penn State won a penalty corner with eight minutes left in the third quarter. Once again, the pass was directed to Gladieux, whose striking swat was saved by Michigan keeper Hala Silverstein.

With five minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Wolverines scored off of another penalty corner. A low shot from the top of the circle glided past the Nittany Lions’ defense to ramp up the score to 4-0. Two minutes later, Michigan sparked a counterattack and poked the ball to Kate McLaughlin. McLaughlin easily scored to make the score 5-0.

Gladieux got another shot off after a penalty corner with 40 seconds left in the third quarter. The ball landed at Drew Taylor’s feet in front of the right post, but Taylor could not release her own shot due to the speed of Gladieux’s ball.

Five minutes into the fourth quarter, Gladieux zipped through the Wolverine defense, winning a penalty corner after a defender hit her stick. On the corner, Gladieux spun around a defender and discharged a backhanded shot that deflected off of a Wolverine stick.

Four minutes later, Michigan scored again after goalkeeper Lauren Delgado’s initial save landed at Juliette Manzur’s stick. The Nittany Lions’ deficit loomed even larger.

Another powerful Gladieux shot highlighted Penn State’s frustration on the day as the sizzling shot tattooed the post. Another close chance resulted in more disappointment for the Nittany Lions as Michigan ran down the clock to end the game.

Takeaways

• The Wolverines overwhelmed the Nittany Lions from the first minute. After Michigan scored early in the first quarter, Penn State didn’t gain any momentum throughout the whole game.
• Penn State has struggled in Big Ten play this season. Its conference record dropped to a measly 1-4, which translates to a .200 win percentage. The Nittany Lions will need to evaluate this poor conference play, as their remaining three games are all against Big Ten opponents.
• Gladieux registered most of the shots for Penn State, and the game flowed through her for the Nittany Lions. More Nittany Lions will need to step up through the remainder of the season to keep Penn State competitive for the Big Ten tournament.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions remain home to take on Michigan State at noon on Sunday, October 20. Folks can watch the game on BTN+.