No. 18 Penn State field hockey (2-1, 0-0 Big Ten) beat No. 9 St. Joseph’s (2-1, 0-0 Atlantic 10) at home on Sunday to hand the Hawks their first loss of the season.

The Nittany Lions carried their momentum after a double-overtime win against Delaware on Friday into the Sunday game against St. Joseph’s, going toe-to-toe with a top-10 team in the nation.

How It Happened

Penn State generated the first real scoring opportunity just over five minutes into the game, earning a penalty corner that eventually set up Anouk Knuvers for the game’s opening goal at 6:09. It was her first of the season and put the Nittany Lions up 1-0.

St. Joseph’s continued to pressure in transition, but goalie Aby Deverka and the Penn State defense stood strong to fight off three shots from St. Joseph’s.

The Hawks would find their breakthrough in the second frame. After nearly a quarter of back-and-forth empty possessions, St. Joseph’s was rewarded with a penalty corner at the 12:54 mark. The team was unable to capitalize, but just over a minute later, Ava Smith buried a shot off an assist from Alison Buffington with 39 seconds til halftime to tie the game.

The third quarter featured chances from both sides, but neither could find the back of the net. Penn State created multiple chances on penalty corners, but Paige Kieft turned away shots from Joji Purdy and Kuevers. On the other side, St. Joseph’s generated a few looks inside the circle, but was unable to put anything past Deverka.

The final frame opened with a yellow card issued to Sophia Mannino just 18 seconds in. The Nittany Lions had to play shorthanded early, but their defense stood tall. Later, a blocked shot from St. Joseph’s Smith kept the game tied.

Carly Hynd was given a yellow card for the Hawks, giving Penn State a late advantage. In the last minute of regulation, St. Joseph’s was awarded a penalty corner. The feed went to Smith, but her shot was blocked to keep the game knotted at one heading into overtime.

The overtime started quietly, as both teams traded empty possessions and struggled to get any clean looks on goal. Penn State controlled possession in the offensive zone more than halfway through overtime, and Katelyn Strawser slipped a pass to Olivia Martins, who buried the game-winning goal at 6:16 in overtime.

Takeaways

• After beating Delaware in double overtime on Friday and St. Joseph’s in overtime today, Penn State saw a lead slip away in both games but still managed to battle back and win in overtime.
• Deverka only needed to make two saves all game for the Nittany Lions, showing how well Penn State’s defense controlled the game.
• St. Joseph’s earned six penalty corners compared to Penn State’s three, but the Nittany Lions still found ways to score. Goals from Knuvers and Marthins show the team’s ability to generate offense when corners weren’t there.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will have most of the week to prepare before hosting Bucknell at 6 p.m. on Friday, September 12, starting the team’s second straight weekend homestand of the season. The game can be streamed on BTN+.