No. 17 Penn State field hockey (8-8, 2-5 Big Ten) fell to Rutgers (7-7, 4-4 Big Ten) on Friday afternoon.

The Nittany Lions could not get any offensive groove going in Piscataway and dropped the second game of their last three after conceding late in the first half.

How It Happened

Rutgers tested the Nittany Lions early, with a shot pinging off the post a minute and a half into the game. Defender Gery Schnarrs slipped up defensively five minutes into the first quarter, leading to another Rutgers possession in the circle. However, the Nittany Lions stood strong and blocked any chance for a shot.

Miscommunication in the Nittany Lions’ defense almost gifted Rutgers a goal with three minutes left in the first quarter. Goalkeeper Lauren Delgado and a Penn State defender collided in front of the goal, but the ball narrowly spilled out of bounds off of Delgado. The save held the game scoreless after the first quarter.

Rutgers continued its dominant reign of possession midway through the second quarter, slapping shots at Delgado left and right. However, none of them found their way into the net to take advantage. With seven minutes remaining in the half, Rutgers’ Olivia Fraticelli unleashed a ball that flew past the Penn State defense and skidded right past the goal.

The Nittany Lions won a penalty corner with 40 seconds left in the half. An offensive breakdown resulted in a Rutgers counterattack, where Schnarrs somehow defended two Scarlet Knights However, Rutgers won a penalty corner on the play and took advantage of the opportunity, smacking in a shot to put the Scarlet Knights up 1-0 at the half.

The second half opened with Delgado denying a clear shot on goal, preserving the 1-0 deficit. On the subsequent corner, Delgado registered another save, not allowing Rutgers to get an insurance goal so early in the half.

With four minutes left in the third quarter, Rutgers unleashed back-to-back shots that forced Delgado to perform some acrobatics to keep the ball out. The score remained at 1-0 at the end of the third quarter.

Sophia Gladieux showcased her elusiveness and threaded a ball to Drew Taylor, who won a penalty corner. Julienne Van Bekkum picked out Gladieux at the top of the circle, but the shot was saved by Sophia Howard. The Nittany Lions repeated the same strategy for the subsequent penalty corner won, but were once again denied.

Rutgers won a series of penalty corners with nine minutes remaining in the game, aiming to ice the game. Delgado swatted a ball away for her sixth save of the afternoon, doing everything in her power to keep Penn State in the match.

Delgado continued to stuff shots from the Scarlet Knights, holding on tight to prevent the late-game goal.

Penn State’s last-ditch efforts in the last minute were not enough to score, and the game ended 1-0.

Takeaways

• Rutgers completely dominated possession over Penn State in the first half. The Scarlet Knights continuously maintained the ball and smothered the Nittany Lions whenever they did have the ball, which set the tone for the game from the start.
• The Nittany Lions did not register a single shot throughout the whole first half, while Rutgers unloaded seven. The lack of offensive production and opportunity killed any hope to get into the game. Penn State was outshot 18-3.
• Delgado kept Penn State in the match after conceding late in the first half. She made nine saves and held strong, but the absence of any offensive output shadowed her efforts.

What’s Next?

Penn State returns home to battle Maryland at 4 p.m. on Friday, November 1, for its final game of the regular season.