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Field Hockey Game Notes
GAME 18: Oct. 25, Pennsylvania Quakers (3-10) Today's Game: The Lady Lions are looking to snap a two-game losing skid this evening. Penn State hopes to turn its fortunes, as it has not lost to the Quakers in 10 years. Penn State Coach's Corner: Head coach Charlene Morett is in her 14th season at the Lady Lion helm and 17th overall. She boasts an overall record of 266-89-16 and a 229-73-8 record at Penn State. Last year, Morett reached yet another milestone, winning the 250th game of her career (10/15/99 vs. Northwestern). She guided Penn State to its 18th-straight NCAA Tournament and the 13th under her guidance. Her 1999 Lady Lions received 17 postseason honors, including Big Ten Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year (Tracey Larson), and four were named USFHA All-Americans. The Lions also reached No. 1 in the first poll of the season last year. Since entering the Big Ten in 1992, Morett's teams have garned three conference titles and an unprecedented four straight tournament titles from 1995-98. Penn Head Coach: In her sixth season, head coach Val Cloud has put together a 43-56 overall record. She was an assistant coach for the Quakers for 15 seasons before being moved up to head coach. As an assistant, she helped to guide Penn to seven Ivy League titles and five NCAA Tournament appearances. A 1969 SUNY-Brockport graduate, Cloud has extensive international coaching experience, spending three years as an assistant for the U.S. National team, coached at U.S. Olympic Festivals and Pan American Games. Scouting Penn: The Quakers have won just three games, while posting two shutouts. Delaware and Pacific each fell to identical scores of 4-0, while Lafayette was defeated by a score of 3-1. Penn has not won an Ivy League game and has lost five overtime games. In its first three games of the season, Penn forced an extra period but fell each time. Yale needed some extra minutes to defeat the Quakers, 3-2, on Saturday. The Quakers have three common opponents with the Lady Lions. Penn lost to St. Joseph's (3-2, OT), West Chester (3-2, OT) and Temple (1-0). PSU vs. Penn: Penn State is ahead in the all-time series, 13-6-0. The Quakers won a string of four games from 1986-88, all in overtime. But the Lions have not lost to Penn in a decade, winning the last 10 in a row. In that period, the Quaker attack has not been so successful, mustering just three goals, while being shutout seven times. PSU vs. Pennsylvania
1 EAIAW Regional Tournament 2 NCAA Tournament Final Four 3 NCAA Tournament First Round Last Time Out: Penn State extended its losing streak to two games, falling to No. 7 Princeton, 3-1, on Sunday. The Lions are playing without three key starters. The Tigers ran out to a 3-0 lead which the Lions could not overcome. Penn State finally jumped on the board late in the second half on a goal by junior Kelly Concini. The Lady Lions were allowed just four shots, all in the second half. Win Streak Ends at 11: The Lady Lions were on an 11-game tear until Friday night when Michigan came to Bigler Field and defeated Penn State, 1-0, in a Big Ten showdown. The win assured Michigan of at least a tie for the Big Ten regular season title. The 11-game win streak was the longest since 1993 when the Lions won a school-record 15-consecutive games. In that season, the Lions won the Big Ten regular season and tournament crowns. That season also saw PSU advance to the NCAA Tournament Final Four. At Home: The Lady Lions have been tough to beat at home. In the program's 36-year history, it has notched a 216-43-13 record. Penn State has been even better since moving to Bigler Field from Holuba Field in 1996. The Lions have won 39 of 46 games and set the school record with 25 straight-home wins last year. The streak spanned 1997-99. Anselmo Tabbed Top Penn State Fall Athlete: In a web site fan poll administered by www.GoPSUsports.com , the fans voted senior co-captain Traci Anselmo Penn State's Top Fall Athlete. Anslemo won the poll by a large margin, garnering 41.5% of the votes. She led women's soccer star Christie Welsh (23.8), men's soccer standout Derek Potteiger (14.6), cross country runner Chris McGinness (12.9) and NCAA Championship volleyball team member Mishka Levy (7.2). Lions Out For The Season: After losing control of the Big Ten race for the regular season conference title to Michigan and snapping an 11-game win streak, the Lions got even more bad news after that game. Junior Kiley Kulina suffered a broken foot during Friday night's game and will be out for the remainder of the regular season and for the Big Ten Champion-ship. She hopes to be back on the field in time for the NCAA Tournament beginning November 11. The prognosis does not look so promising for true freshman Neilye Stoner. She shattered her thumb during the course of the game against the Wolverines and will be out for the rest of the year. Senior co-captian Mandy Robinson has already sat out for several weeks with a stress fracture in her hip. Head coach Charlene Morett hopes that she will be cleared to play again in time for the conference championship. Players of the Week! Martz Named Player of the Week: The Penn State defense and sophomore defender Jill Martz had a solid week last week. Martz's defensive efforts led to Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors. A starter on defense in every game, to limit Temple and Indiana to a combined six shots, while helping PSU goalkeepers post the fifth shutout of the season over the Hoosiers on Saturday. IU was allowed just one shot for the game. Martz's defense in the two contests allowed for transition opportunities which resulted in two assists and her first career goal. The Penn State defense has been solid all season, with Martz playing a key role. The times has the Lion defense not given up a shot or a penalty corner for the entire game. Galie Named Player of the Week: For the third time this season a Lady Lion has been honored for her play on the field. Senior Maegan Galie notched the game-tying and game-winning goals in the 3-2 overtime win at No. 18 Michigan State. Her efforts in that game earned her Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors. It is the first time she receives the honor this season. She leads the team in assists and is second in scoring. Anselmo Named Player of the Week: Senior co-captain Traci Anselmo had a breakout weekend at Connecticut and Boston College. During that weekend, she notched 11 points which led to Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week laurels for the first time this season. She led the team to a 5-4 victory against the Huskies with four goals. Against the Eagles, Anselmo recorded a goal and an assist. The 1999 All-American was named Big Ten Player of the Week and National Player of the Week once last season en route to a slew of honors. Zinkavich Named Player of the Week: Redshirt freshman Annie Zinkavich made her first collegiate appearance in the Lady Lions' season opener against Old Dominion. In 44 minutes of playing time, Zinkavich did not give up an ODU goal and made six saves. The following day against Kent State, she earned her first career start and posted her first career shutout in 70 minutes. Her performances earned her Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors for the first week of the season. Currently, she is ranked 10th nationally with a 1.12 goals against average. Statistics and rankings are as of 10/10. Among the Big Ten Leaders (as of 10/17): Penn State's offensive surge the last several weeks has put three Lions in the Big Ten's top 10 in scoring. Senior Traci Anselmo is second with 34 points (12g, 10a) and classmate Maegan Galie is tied for third with 30 points (10g, 10a). Junior Kiley Kulina is tied for fifth with 28 points (12g, 4a). Also in the top 20 are four other Lions. Redshirt freshman Timarie Legel is 14th and junior Meredith Shulzitski and freshman Neilye Stoner are both ranked 15th. Sophomore defender is topping out at 19th with 13 points. The Nation's Leaders: As of October 17, the Penn State field hockey team figures prominently among the nation's best in several statistical categories. The Lions' winning percentage of .867 is third-best in the country, while the scoring offense jumped up from 16th two weeks ago to seventh at 4.09 goals per game in 15 contests. The Lady Lion defense is among the best in eighth, allowing just 1.10 goals. Penn State's victory margin of 2.99 is fifth which is up from 15th two weeks ago. Senior Traci Anselmo makes another showing in the national top 20. Her 34 points is 14th and 12 goals is 17th. The 2.267 points she collects per game is 15th, while the 10 assists she has dished out is 17th. She also is 18th overall with 0.667 assists per game. Senior Maegan Galie is 16th with 30 points, 17th with 10 assists and 18th at 0.667 assists per game. Junior Kiley Kulina makes her first appearance in the top 20. The 12 goals scored is 17th, while the 0.857 goals per game is 17th. Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Annie Zinkavich continues to be among the best goalkeepers in the nation. She dips under one for the first time this season in goals against average. Her 0.96 goals against average is third in the nation. Lions "D"-Up: The Lions' defense has been tough to penetrate this season. Four times has the Penn State defense not allowed a shot attempt to an opponent and three times it has not given up a penalty corner. Maybe that is why Penn State is ranked eighth in scoring defense, allowing just 1.10 goals per game as of October 17. St. Joseph's was the first foe that the Lions blanked in the shots column in early September. The three other times the Lions silnced its opponents' attack, they also did not allow a corner. Syracuse fell to the Lions 1-0 in overtime, but had no attack to speak of, taking zero shots and forcing zero corners. The same was the case with West Chester and the Big Ten's Northwestern. Three other times, the Lions allowed two or fewer shots. Century Mark: With two assists in the 4-0 win over St. Joseph's, senior co-captain Traci Anselmo became the 12th Lady Lion to ever register 100 career points. She moves passed 1999 Big Ten Player of the Year Tracey Larson and into eighth place with a total of 128 points. Her five goals at Connecticut (4) and at Boston College (1) not only puts her in the top 10 on Penn State's career goals list, but she catapulted up the charts and is ranked fifth all-time with 53 career goals, three goals ahead of head coach Charlene Morett. Approaching the Top: Senior Maegan Galie ranks among the best field hockey players in Penn State history. She moved into the top 10 on Penn State's career goals list earlier this season and her two goals at Northwestern put her into a tie in sixth with head coach Charlene Morett at 50. She is already in the top 10 in career assists and career points. She tied with 1999 Big Ten Player of the Year Tracey Larson and has 45 (7th) after picking up two against Northwestern. Sixth all-time with 145 career points, Galie is just one point behind Kristen Winters ('90) and eight behind 1998 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Dawn Lammey. Meanwhile, senior co-captain Traci Anselmo moved into the top 10 in goals and points this season as well. She has made a steady climb all season and is now fifth with 53 goals, three ahead of Morett. She moved passed 1999 Big Ten Player of the Year Tracey Larson on the career points list and is in eighth place with 128. Lions Represent the U.S.: A number of Lady Lions represented the United States in the spring and summer of 2000. The Big Ten's 1999 Player of the Year and former Lion Tracey Larson secured a spot on the U.S. National squad for the second-straight year. Senior Maegan Galie was named to the Under 21 squad in February and then moved up to the Developmental Team that toured Canada this summer. Senior co-captain Traci Anselmo was again a member of the Senior Reserve Team, while junior Kliey Kulina and sophomore Jill Martz were both members of the Under 21 team. Tough Slate: The Lady Lions have traditionally taken on one of the toughest schedules in the nation, and the 2000 campaign is no different. Appearing on the schedule are seven of last year's 16 NCAA Tournament teams (ODU, Kent State, Iowa, Michigan, UVA, UNC, UConn). Big Ten foe Michigan was an NCAA finalist. Eleven of the 20 teams ranked in this week's STX/NFHCA National Coaches polls are Penn State opponents, including six of the top 10. On Deck: Penn State will play its final regular season Big Ten game at Ohio State on October 28. The game will begin at 1 p.m. The Lady Lions will look to end the season on a positive note entering the Big Ten Championship set for November 3-5 at the University of Michigan. Lady Lions on the Air: Catch the Lady Lions live on the radio at WMAJ 1450 AM or on Penn State's official athletics web site at www.GoPSUsports.com four times this season. The schedule is as follows:
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