No. 5 Penn State Uses Three First Half Goals To Get By No. 11 Princeton, 4-2

Sunday, October 2

State College, Pa.

2:00 p.m.

Princeton University

(6-4, 2-0IVY)

Penn State

(11-1, 2-1B1G)

Princeton

Penn State

Photo by: Beverly Schaefer

No. 5 Penn State Uses Three First Half Goals To Get By No. 11 Princeton, 4-2

October 02, 2016 | Field Hockey

Box Score

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – The No. 5 Penn State Nittany Lions registered three first half goals en-route to a 4-2 victory over the No. 11 Princeton Tigers at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex on Sunday afternoon.

The Tigers jumped on top in the ninth minute as freshman Krista Hoffman hammered home a reverse for her second goal of the season.

No. 5 Penn State tied the contest after sophomore Nicole Catalino stopped Brooke Birosik shot from going over the end line. On the rebound, Moira Putsch picked up the loose ball and send it into the back of the net.

In the 15th minute, freshman Maddie Bacskai came up with a big stop as she prevented another Birosik attempt from going in. Three minutes later, Aurelia Meijer collected a pass from Putsch and then struck it past sophomore Grace Baylis to give the Nittany Lions a 2-1 advantage.

After having two of her shots denied on defensive saves, Birosik got the Nittany Lions another goal with 5:32 to go in the half. The Tigers were awarded a corner before halftime, but senior Cat Caro's shot attempt was wide.

Trailing by two, Princeton went on the attack to begin the second stanza, forcing Penn State's goalie Jenny Rizzo to come up with two saves while another shot was off the mark. The Nittany Lions tacked on another tally in the 41st minute from Kirsten Gochnauer.

Hoffman was looking for her second goal of the game in the 49th minute, but Rizzo secured another save. McCarthy's follow-up attempt was also sent away by Rizzo. With five minutes left, Princeton was awarded a corner. After the initial shot was blocked, sophomore Jane Donio-Enscoe drilled the ball through for her second goal of the year.

Princeton gets back on the road next Friday at Columbia (6:30 p.m.) before No. 3 Duke comes to Bedford Field on Sunday (1 p.m.). The Duke game can be seen on the Ivy League Digital Network.