EVANSTON, Ill. November 5, 2004 - The No. 4 seeded Penn State field hockey team suffered a disappointing 3-2 upset to No. 5 seed Ohio State in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament at Northwestern University on Friday. Annelise Legel (Morgantown, Pa.) and Natalie Berrena (State College, Pa.) each scored in the loss.

It was a balanced offense for the Nittany Lions as nine players recorded at least one shot. Defensively, Penn State gave up 10 shots, while goalkeeper Megan Akstin (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) recorded five saves. Penn State also held an 8-3 edge in penalty corners.

The loss was especially difficult considering Penn State was up, 2-1, at the half. The Buckeyes, however, scored first in the game, as Lauren Kruse found the back of the cage at the 17:52 mark in the game. But at 27:21, Carey Maser (Medford, N.J.) sent a cross to Legel who smacked it in, evening the score. Just over three minutes later, the Nittany Lions surged ahead when Shaun Banta (Gibbsboro, N.J.) beat her defender down the right side, dribbled into the circle and passed to Berrena who scored from the left side.

In the second half Kruse scored again at the 44:50 mark off a rebound on a penalty corner shot. Ohio State scored the game winner at the 62:07 mark as Leticia Fragapane knocked the ball in off an assist from Cammie Trainer. The Nittany Lions made a late push in the final eight minutes, including two penalty corners in the final two minutes, but could not convert. Penn State falls to 10-10 on the year, while Ohio State improves to 10-9. The Buckeyes will face No. 1 seed Michigan on Saturday at 12 p.m. ET.

The Big Ten released its all-conference teams at a pre-tournament banquet Thursday night. Penn State had three players on the first team, as Sara Cahill (Virginia Beach, Va.), Bekah Hostetler (Hershey, Pa.) and Amanda Eckert (Lititz, Pa.) were all honored. In addition, Kiersten Wood (Lititz, Pa.) snagged freshman of the year honors. Wood became the fourth Nittany Lion to win the award, and the first since 1996 when future All-American Tracy Larson won. For Eckert, it is the second time she has been recognized by the Big Ten, as she was a second-team selection last year. This is the first all-conference honor for both Cahill and Hostetler.