Penn State field hockey (9-4, 3-1 Big Ten) beat No. 18 Michigan (6-7, 1-5 Big Ten) 2-1 on Sunday afternoon at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex.

Ella Gaitan scored both goals for the Nittany Lions, who survived a strong fourth-quarter push by Michigan to beat the ranked Wolverines.

How It Happened

The Nittany Lions controlled possession early, drawing a penalty corner in the opening minutes.

Natalie Freeman took the penalty corner and passed it to Sienna Dunn, who dropped a pass to Ella Gaitan. She fired it into the bottom-right corner of the net, giving Penn State an early lead.

double-digit goals for ella – her new single-season high!#GameOn | #PSUFH pic.twitter.com/Dqg84vYSPP

— Penn State Field Hockey (@PennStateFH) October 18, 2026

Michigan maintained possession over the next stretch. The Nittany Lions did a good job keeping Aby Deverka clean, blocking two shots and penalty corners in the middle portion of the first.

Both teams alternated possession for the remainder of the opening period, with Gaitan being the only one to attempt a shot, which went wide of the Wolverine net.

Michigan’s Juliette Manzur took a penalty corner early in the second. The Wolverines let off a flurry of shots on the ensuing play, none of which reached the Penn State net.

Deverka made her first two saves in rapid succession around the halfway point of the second quarter, keeping the Nittany Lions up 1-0.

Shortly after, Michigan goalie Hala Silverstein made two saves of her own on two Penn State penalty corners.

The two teams continued to trade possession with no further offensive action until after the second quarter expired.

Gaitan got things going for the Nittany Lions right after the intermission, netting her second goal of the contest in the opening minutes of the second half.

Strong defense followed by both teams, with the ball staying mostly on Michigan’s side of the field, but no shots were attempted.

Late in the third, the Wolverines finally mustered up some offense, but Deverka was there to make a save on the one shot that came her way.

The early-quarter scoring continued in the fourth with Matilda Gibson cutting Penn State’s lead in half just 36 seconds into the final frame.

Dunn was given a green card soon after, forcing the Nittany Lions to hunker down on defense, as the unit blocked two shots while down a player.

Despite controlling possession late, the Wolverines were unable to test Deverka late as Penn State survived with a 2-1 win.

Takeaways

• Ella Gaitan was the offensive engine for the Nittany Lions. She scored both of Penn State’s goals while registering a game-leading five shots.
• The Nittany Lion defense did a great job keeping the ball away from their net, with Michigan only reaching four shots on goal out of 14.
• There wasn’t a whole lot of action offensively for either team, with only nine shots on net from both squads combined.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will continue Big Ten play on the road, where they’ll take on Indiana at 3 p.m. on Friday, October 23, at Deborah Tobias Field. Folks can watch from home on Big Ten Plus.