Penn State outlasts Kent State women’s field hockey 5-2
Penn State 5, Kent State 2. Photo: Sydney Madden
Just 30 seconds into the first quarter of the No. 17 Penn State women’s field hockey game against unranked Kent State, the Nittany Lions earned a penalty stroke.
Morgan Snyder, a sophomore, lifted the ball into the left side of the cage, scoring her first collegiate goal.
The Flashes answered quickly.
One minute later, Maybritt Duwel, a junior, fired a powerful shot that bounced off the backboard, evening the score at 1-1 by the end of the first quarter. Her goal marked Duwel's fourth of the season, which is the most scored on her team.
The two goals set the tone for what proved to be a very intense 60 minutes of NCAA Division I college field hockey. The game was Penn State’s fourth home game win.
Penn State is 4-1 and Kent State is 1-4.
The Lions played offensively this time around, with 18 shots and 11 penalty corners throughout the game. Kent State only had eight shots and one penalty corner.
PSU's sophomore Aby Deverka tallied five saves, whereas Kent State’s junior keeper Allison Wood had 14 saves.
In the second quarter, Aubrey Semler, a senior, delivered a backhand into the Flashes' goal, giving Penn State the advantage going into halftime with a 2-1 lead.
Two green card warnings were given to the Nittany Lions in the third quarter, one to Lara Pyle, a freshman, at 11:37, and another to Ella Jennes, a senior.
They both sat out for two minutes.
The next goal was scored on a penalty corner, when Snyder passed the ball to freshman Joji Purdy, who shot it into the goal. That put the scoreboard at 3-1 at the end of the third quarter.
The fourth quarter started with Kent State earning their second penalty corner of the game, but after a video review the call was returned.
The Flashes struck back two minutes later, where sophomore Eva Usoz scored unassisted at the top of the circle, 12:23 remaining in the second half.
She carried the ball five yards outside the circle, entered, and shot for the goal.
Penn State still led, 3-2. Usoz was the team's top scorer in the 2024 season.
The Lions earned another penalty corner at 9:33. Natalie Freeman, a junior, inserted the ball into the circle, which was finished by a touch from sophomore Katelyn Strawser and shot into the cage by Jennes.
Purdy scores again with five minutes remaining in the game, assisted by Freeman, making the final score 5-2.
The Nittany Lions are away next weekend, where they will play No. 10 Maryland on Friday, September 19th at 5 p.m. This marks the first conference game for both teams. Kent State will visit No. 14 UMass Amherst on the same day.
Thank you for reading Female Athlete News. Sydney Madden is a student-intern at Penn State University.