UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Northwestern may have scored first on its only shot of the first half, but the third-seeded Nittany Lion field hockey team stormed back with six unanswered goals to cruise past Northwestern, 6-1, in the Big Ten Field Hockey Tournament on Thursday.

With the win, Penn State will take on second-seeded Ohio State, who knocked Michigan State on Thursday, in the tournament semifinals on Friday at noon (live on BTN).

Penn State controlled the opening 35 minutes of play, but found itself trailing, 1-0, after Northwestern scored on a penalty corner in the third minute.

Nonetheless, the Nittany Lions answered when sophomore Ashtin Klingler deposited the ball into the net off of a rebound at the 12:10 mark.

Head coach Charlene Morett said the tying goal was an important one for the Lions to get after the Wildcats took an early lead.

"I was really proud of the way we rebounded and got the equalizer," Morett said.  "It makes it an even game at that point, and we stuck to the game plan.  One of the things we talked about was blocking up the middle, and once we stopped the long ball to then counter-attack."

With the score tied at 1-1, freshman Taylor Herold took over for Penn State, flipping in two goals off of rebounds in a span of 1:13 to put the Lions up 3-1.

"Both of them were on rebounds, and I knew that I just had to get them off in some way," Herold said.  "It took me almost falling and diving on both plays, but I just shot towards the front of the goal and they went in."

The goals sent the Lions into the break with a two-goal lead after out-shooting the Wildcats 16-1 in the opening half.  Neither of Herold's goal were easy plays, but the freshman found a way to put the ball in the net when the Lions needed her to.

"Huge goals for a freshman," Morett said.  "From where she scored them, that kid can find the net.  That is what makes her so exciting.  I thought all of the strikers did a great job setting up scoring opportunities."

Junior Kelsey Amy provided an immediate spark out of the halftime break.  Amy found Klingler on a superb pass into the center for her second goal just 35 seconds into the second half.  Amy then scored following a penalty corner in the 44th minute.  Eight minutes later, Amy buried her second goal to set the final score at 6-1.

"It was very exciting to come out that way in the second half," Amy said.  "We have had some games with a lull in the second half, but it was very exciting to see us come out and play with the same intensity that we were playing with in the first half."

Amy said that it is very important to carry that intensity over into tomorrow's game against Ohio State.  The Lions suffered a 2-0 setback to the Buckeyes on Oct. 16.

"It is going to be a great game," said Morett.  "I saw them play today.  They are very quick in the midfield.  We need to make sure that we are playing very good defense."

A championship game berth will be on the line for the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes at noon.  Top-seeded Michigan is slated to meet fourth-seeded Iowa at 10 a.m. in the first semifinal.  Both games are live on BTN.


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