Penn State field hockey (2-1, 0-0 Big Ten) defeated the Villanova Wildcats (2-1, 0-0 Big East) 2-0 in a tight match Friday afternoon.

Natalie Freeman opened up the scoring late in the third quarter, as Villanova’s Maddi Sears kept Penn State at bay for most of the match. The Wildcats had a few chances, including a bouncing ball in front of an open net, but were not able to convert before Joji Purdy put the game away at the 55-minute mark with a goal from a penalty corner.

How It Happened

Villanova started with the center pass and dumped the ball into Penn State territory. They fired two shots wide of the net, as the Nittany Lions struggled to collect themselves and establish an offense in the first minutes of the match. However, two kicked balls allowed Penn State to settle in Wildcat territory, and a through pass set up a shot, but Wildcats’ keeper Maddi Sears came away with the kick-save.

The teams exchanged possessions and turnovers in the middle minutes of the first quarter, with no clear dominant force, though Penn State let Villanova hang around longer than they should have.

With two minutes remaining in the frame, Penn State had a breakaway opportunity, and Freeman slung a highly contested shot that Sears saved with a split.

Villanova opened the second frame with possession and, just like they did in the first, dumped and chased the ball into Penn State’s half of the field. Though the Nittany Lions dominated ball control and were on the verge of a few breakout plays, they couldn’t convert in the first minutes.

Coming off a steal, Ella Gaitain fed Freeman inside the circle, but Sears swarmed her, and the Penn State forward didn’t have an angle on the goal. Gaitan had another opportunity herself in the circle, but swung and missed.

And after earning her team a penalty corner, Gaitan took the shot but missed wide right. The first half ended 0-0 as Penn State began to gain momentum.

Penn State opened the half with possession and played it backward, which did not work in its favor as Villanova quickly won the ball back.

The Nittany Lions regained it, and Gaitan almost got a shot off in the circle, but was called for an infraction, allowing the Wildcats to take it downfield.

Halfway through the frame, Penn State earned its second penalty corner of the match. Purdy passed back and forth with Sienna Dunn and fired off a shot, which deflected off a Wildcat and went out of bounds.

The Wildcats marched into Penn State’s own half, following a two-minute suspension awarded to Purdy. Aby Deverka got her first action in goal, kicking a ball out of bounds and ceasing Villanova’s attack.

Heading the other way, Purdy, whose suspension had just ended with four minutes remaining, intercepted a deflection and nearly scored. Lara Pyle took the rebound into the circle and was fouled, giving Penn State its third penalty corner.

The corner went to Gaitan, but her shot was blocked, and left a bouncing ball in front of Freeman. Freeman slapped the ball, bouncing off Sears’ pads, into the net for the first goal of the match, 1-0 Penn State.

The Wildcats came out firing following the goal with two minutes left in the quarter. They earned themselves a penalty corner, though their shot was easily defended by Cooper Cutchins.

Villanova kept their momentum heading into the final quarter, but Penn State still managed a few breakaways in the first five minutes of fourth-quarter action.

Following a failed Penn State attack, Villanova set up a perfect through-ball that required Deverka to come out of the net. The ball bounced off her pad and bounced in front of an open net, but Ava Borkowski whiffed on her shot, and the Nittany Lions hung on to their lead.

Another Villanova penalty corner, which was reviewed, threatened Penn State’s lead, but Deverka cleared it with help from Hope Russo.

With five minutes remaining in the match, Penn State was awarded a penalty corner. Freeman passed it from out of bounds to Pyle, who stopped the ball and allowed Purdy to wind up for a shot that trickled by Sears for Penn State’s second goal.

Time expired on Villanova as Penn State kept them at an arm’s-length distance for the remainder of the match.

Takeaways

• Penn State’s midfielders and defenders kept Aby Deverka relaxed in goal as the keeper only came out of the net a handful of times to put an end to the Wildcats’ attack.
• Natalie Freeman scored the winning goal, following a penalty corner that took a Penn State rebound right to her stick. It was the senior’s second goal of the year, as she begins to heat up early in the season.
• The Nittany Lions played a close game, with their first goal coming late in the third period. They played Villanova tight all the way through until Purdy’s goal extended the lead and loosened them up.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions stay in town this weekend to take on the Delaware Blue Hens on Sunday, September 6, at noon. All field hockey home games are free for fans, and Sunday’s contest will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.