No. 14 Penn State field hockey (12-5, 6-2 Big Ten) upset No. 1 Northwestern (16-2, 7-1 Big Ten) 2-0 on Friday afternoon.

Regardless of the result, Penn State secured the third seed for the Big Ten Tournament; however, Friday’s matchup was more about establishing itself against the nation’s best team.

The first half was back-and-forth, with teams trading scoring chances, but the scoreboard stayed 0-0. It took until the 41st minute for a goal to be scored, when Penn State’s Cooper Cutchins scored off a rebound from a penalty corner. That would be all Penn State needed, but Lilly Holmes added another goal to seal the game.

How It Happened

The Nittany Lions started with the center pass and quickly worked into Northwestern territory, but to no avail, as the Wildcats stole the ball away.

It took the Wildcats a few extra passes, but they moved themselves downfield. Ashley Sessa moved from left to right into the shooting circle and whipped a backhand shot, but Aby Deverka kicked it away.

It took until the six-minute mark for Penn State to reestablish its offense in Northwestern’s half of the field, and that possession was short-lived. The Nittany Lions could only find open passes toward the sidelines, which often led to turnovers.

That is, until Morgan Snyder intercepted and cleared the ball up to Natalie Freeman, who had only one defender standing between her and the goalkeeper. Freeman misplayed a dribble near the shooting circle, but managed to get Penn State’s first shot off, wide left.

An errant pass from the Wildcats with a minute remaining found its way to Ella Gaitan’s stick. Gaitan had a one-on-one with Juliana Boon in goal, but her flick shot was knocked away by a last-second kick by Boon.

Possession began in Northwestern territory again to start the frame, and Sienna Dunn produced a green card against the Wildcats just outside the shooting circle, though nothing became of it.

Northwestern worked possession to the other half of the field and maintained it until the sixth minute of the quarter, when Dunn took an intercepted ball all the way to Boon.

Three minutes later, Chloe Dhage had a similar breakaway before handing the keys over to Gaitan and Dunn. The offensive duo didn’t manage a shot or a penalty corner as the whistles remained silent through the first frame.

Possession shifted in the Wildcats’ favor, and the No. 1 team recorded two shots on goal within 30 seconds, but Deverka stood tall, recording two saves of her own.

With two minutes remaining in the half, Penn State brought the ball back to their offensive sticks. Dunn produced her second green card, this time to Northwestern’s standout Olivia Bent-Cole.

With an extra stick on the field and time draining in the half, the Nittany Lions rushed to strike first. Northwestern’s defense kept them off the scoreboard as the siren rang out to end the first half of play.

Northwestern started with the center pass as the direction changed for the second half. Bent-Cole was released just as the Wildcats went charging into Penn State territory, and she earned her team the first penalty corner of the game.

The pass went directly to Bent-Cole, and her shot deflected off a Nittany Lion out of bounds. Just a few seconds later, Northwestern earned another penalty corner. This time Bent-Cole stopped the pass for Aerin Krys, but Deverka kicked her shot and another follow-up shot away.

Into the five-minute mark, Northwestern continued to pressure Penn State’s defense. The Nittany Lions hadn’t set up their offense so far in the half, and wouldn’t until over halfway through the quarter.

Joji Purdy, with a Wildcat on her back, diverted a pass to a diving Dhage, but her deflection was miraculously kicked away by Boon. Moments later, Purdy earned a penalty corner for her squad.

The ball was played in for Gaitain, whose shot nailed Boon and played a perfect rebound for Cutchins. Cutchins snuck her shot on the ground between Boon’s legs for the first goal of the game with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter.

The Wildcats dumped the ball into Penn State territory to start the final frame. They threatened early as an unguarded Sessa dribbled into the circle and launched a backhand shot that graciously hit Deverka square in the padding and went out of bounds.

At the four-minute mark, Dunn was awarded her own green card, and Northwestern had an extra stick on the field. However, the Wildcats had to work all the way downfield, and when the Nittany Lions regained possession, they played keep-away until Dunn was released.

With eight minutes left in the game, Sessa broke free and was fouled by Snyder for a penalty corner and a yellow card against the Penn State defender.

Northwestern’s penalty corner was not cashed in for a goal, but Penn State would have to play short-handed for the next five minutes.

The Wildcats continued to pressure Penn State, as the ball never left the Nittany Lions’ half of the field. Penn State failed numerous times to clear the ball, and it culminated in what was called a penalty corner. However, after review, there was no foul, and Penn State had possession with three minutes remaining in the game and just a few seconds left on Snyder’s penalty.

Northwestern pulled its goalkeeper with just two and a half minutes remaining and managed to foul Penn State for a penalty corner with no goalkeeper in goal. Holmes took the direct pass and slapped a worm-burner past the Wildcats’ defense for a 2-0 lead.

Time expired on Northwestern’s offensive possession and the game, as Penn State upset No. 1 Northwestern.

Takeaways

• Penn State had its fair share of turnovers via errant passes, but they did not lead to as many breakaways as Northwestern’s errors did. The Nittany Lions broke away four times in the first half, with either none or one defender between them and the goalkeeper.
• Cooper Cutchins’ game-winning goal in the third quarter marked the 14th goal Penn State has scored in the third and the 25th in the second half this season. In contrast, the Nittany Lions scored nine goals in the first half and only three in the first quarter. In all three games in which they scored in the first quarter, they won.
• Penn State went 2-2 on penalty corners, while Deverka and her defensive unit kept the top team in the nation off the scoreboard through three penalty corners and 60 minutes of a tight match.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will travel to Columbus, Ohio, for the Big Ten Tournament, which runs from Thursday, November 5, until Sunday, November 8.

The bracket hasn’t been posted, but Iowa’s loss to Maryland secured Penn State the third seed. As it stands, Penn State will face Indiana in the opening round.

Penn State won the regular-season matchup 1-0 in Bloomington.

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