No. 19 Penn State Field Hockey (11-4, 5-1 Big Ten) extended its winning streak with an upset win over No. 13 Indiana (9-5, 4-2 Big Ten) on Friday afternoon.

Lara Pyle scored the lone goal for the Nittany Lions on a penalty corner with 2.2 seconds left in the third quarter.

How it Happened

Penn State controlled the opening possession for the first 30 seconds before the Hoosiers stole it. Lilly Freman tried to shoot down the middle of the Nittany Lions to get on goal, but she couldn’t connect.

Indiana controlled possession and kept applying pressure on the Nittany Lions; however, a shot that went wide led to a turnover to the Nittany Lions, and another turnover gave the Hoosiers the ball back.

The Hoosiers got another good look inside the 11:30 mark, but they couldn’t connect and find the back of the net, and Penn State regained possession. 

Pyle stole the ball back for the Nittany Lions and took it coast to coast, but the Hoosier defense stopped her once she got in the zone, preventing a scoring chance. 

With 2:51 left in the first quarter, Indiana had a free hit deep in the Penn State zone, but they couldn’t connect and took too much contact, giving the Nittany Lions the ball.

Indiana controlled the ball to open the second quarter, but the Nittany Lions were able to steal the ball back by the midfield line, before the Hoosiers stole it right back.

The first defensive penalty corner of the day came with 13:00 left in the second quarter for the Hoosiers. Theresa Ricci was behind the line as the Hoosiers took the penalty corner. A Hoosiers misfire allowed the Nittany Lions to hold strong on the penalty corner and prevent Indiana from getting a shot.

Chloe Dhage ran the ball all the way down the field, but multiple Indiana defenders quickly stopped her before she could get a shot off.

Ella Gaitain had a good look at the 11:00 mark, but she couldn’t connect with her teammates, and Indiana took the opportunity to steal the ball back.

Penn State got its first shot of the game from Hope Russo inside the 9:30 mark, but Sadie Canelli blocked it, and the Hoosiers took over.

Penn State stole the ball, and Olivia Marthins got a shot on goal, but it went wide over the net.

It was back and forth for most of the second quarter until the 4:00 mark, when the Nittany Lions took sole possession of the ball, but an out-of-bounds call gave the Hoosiers possession and cut that run short. 

With 1:11 left in the opening half, Indiana headed to its second penalty corner. Mijntje Hagen went behind the line for the Hoosiers, and they couldn’t connect on a deflected shot, giving Penn State the ball with under a minute to play. 

Indiana controlled the ball for the first 40 seconds of the third quarter, but Penn State received a free hit to gain their first possession of the second half. 

Indiana received a power play inside the 12:15 mark of the third quarter after Sienna Dunn received a green card. The Hoosiers could not get any good looks as Penn State quickly regained possession. 

Indiana regained sole possession after several minutes of back-and-forth action, with neither team registering a shot on goal in the third quarter. After an out-of-bounds whistle, Penn State regained possession.

With 5:15 left in the third quarter, Indiana had multiple good looks at goal but couldn’t capitalize against the Penn State defense; it retained possession until 4:30 remaining, when Penn State earned a free hit.

Indiana didn’t let Penn State past the midfield line before stealing the ball back, and with 3:50 left in the third quarter, Ricci found the back of the net for the Hoosiers after Deverka looked confused. However, after a review, the referees determined it was no goal, and the score was reset to 0-0. 

In the last minute of the third quarter, Indiana thought it had a good look, but Cooper Cutchins snuck in and deflected the ball right in the middle of the Hoosier pass.

With 2.2 seconds left in the third quarter, Penn State earned its first penalty corner of the game. Camryn Standish went behind the line for Penn State, and as time expired in the third quarter, Pyle connected with the back of the net to put the Nittany Lions up 1-0.

BANG

Cam Lilly Lara#GameOn | #PSUFH pic.twitter.com/d9cw8qoLeo

— Penn State Field Hockey (@PennStateFH) October 23, 2026

Penn State controlled the first 55 seconds of the fourth quarter before a lengthy official review gave Indiana a free hit.

The Nittany Lion defense prevented the Hoosiers from working anything before quickly stealing it back to regain possession and try to take a 2-0 lead, but they couldn’t connect either.

With 10:51 left in regulation, Indiana received their third penalty corner of the game. Ricci went behind the line for the Hoosiers and found her teammates, who shot three times, all blocked by Deverka.

Standish beat all the Hoosiers downfield after a teammate’s pass left her wide open, but she couldn’t get a shot off as the Hoosiers swept it back to their zone. 

With 5:38 left in the game, Indiana pulled Canelli from the goal to gain a man-up advantage.

After pulling Canelli from the goal, the game became back-and-forth, with intensity rising between the teams.

Penn State earned a penalty corner with 7.8 seconds left in regulation, with no goalkeeper. Natalie Freeman was behind the line for the Nittany Lions, but they didn’t try to score; instead, they ran out the clock to extend their win streak.

Takeaways

• After a 0-0 first half, Penn State and Indiana both had two shots on goal. Indiana controlled most of the first quarter, but the second quarter was back and forth. 
• Both teams had many scoring opportunities in the first half, but neither offense had many shots.
• Indiana’s defense was outstanding at preventing the Nittany Lions from getting to full speed to get shots
• Like the first quarter, Indiana controlled most of the third quarter but gave up a goal in the final two seconds.
• Penn State blocked the Hoosiers at their three corners.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions continue their road trip on Sunday at 3 p.m. as they take on No. 6 Iowa at Grant Field. Folks can watch at home on Big Ten Plus.