New Penn State field hockey coach Hannah Prince inspires team to a fourth‑quarter rally, but ultimately fall 4-3 in overtime to No. 5 Virginia
Virginia’s Mia Abello scored the OT game-winner Friday.
Virginia field hockey hit the ground running Friday when midfielder Rylee Dennis scored the first goal against Penn State within the first 56 seconds.
It was opening day of the NCAA Division I field hockey season, and the No. 5 Cavaliers were determined to hold onto their ranking.
Penn State entered the game unranked, but despite being overlooked to start the season, the BigTen Nittany Lions chipped away at a 3-0 deficit in the third quarter and nearly stole the opener from their ACC opponent.
Riley Savage scored the second goal for Virginia, sending the ball into the back of the goal off an assist from freshman Caitlin Connell. Savage and Connell were high school rivals in Pennsylvania, with Savage playing for The Hill School and Connell playing for Villa Maria.
Penn State’s defense found its strength from quarter to quarter, with an all-hands-on-deck performance emerging — especially from Lilly Holmes and Madison Britton. Support for Britton was loud, as her family repeatedly shouted, “Sticks.”
After halftime, Livvy Barker of the Cavaliers, wasted no time, sending a change-of-speed bump pass to Amelia Reese near stroke, who applied the final touch.
Virginia led 3-0 going into the final quarter, where the Nittany Lions came back with claws out.
Aby Deverka blocked a penalty corner heard around the world, keeping the ball out of Virginia’s attacking circle. Deverka jumped midair with her stick to knock away a post shot that could have made it 4-0.
Shortly after, Olivia Marthins didn’t hesitate to slam the ball home, giving Penn State its first goal with 11 and a half minutes left.
The Nittany Lions’ comeback continued as Ella Gaitan, assisted by Joji Purdy, added one more to the scoreboard, making it 3-2.
Penn State pushed for the equalizer, and it paid off when Chloe D’Hage put all her power into a strike that Sienna Dunn finished for the tying goal.
There was an obvious shift in Penn State’s mindset between the third and fourth quarters.
Head coach Hannah Prince said she told her players to “have that gritty mentality” and “believe that they could achieve a comeback.”
The pep talk worked, as what some expected to be a blowout became an intense overtime battle.
After about five minutes of alternating possessions, Virginia was awarded a penalty corner.
The ball was sent into play, and moments later, Mia Abello of Virginia scored the game-winning shot, assisted by Mary Adams and Emma Watchilla.
“We controlled the game well and should have scored a couple of goals more before we lost control for 5 minutes in the 4th quarter,” Virginia Head Coach Ole Keusgen said in a statement. We are a young team that will learn from this and how to close out games. I’m proud of our character to find a way in OT.“
Penn State hosts Lock Haven on Sunday, Aug. 30. Virginia will travel over Labor Day Weekend to New Jersey to compete in the BigTen/ACC challenge. The Cavaliers are scheduled to play No. 17 Rutgers and Ohio State.
Penn State: 0-0-0-3
Virginia: 1-1-1-0, OT 1
*Simmie Samra is a student-intern at Penn State University.
Thank you for reading Female Athlete News. Reach us at femaleathletenews@gmail.com with a tip or story idea. Follow us on our social media pages for the latest news.