Penn State Sports Roundup: Field Hockey Preps for Final Four

Nov 17, 2022 - 2:04 PM

Penn State’s field hockey program is two wins away from a National Championship entering this weekend.

The Nittany Lions, who won the Big Ten with a 17-3 record, will face top-ranked and unbeaten North Carolina (19-0) on Friday at noon in Storrs, Connecticut. The matchup will be shown on ESPN+.

Penn State got to the Final Four with a pair of shutout wins in NCAA tournament play at the University of Michigan’s campus.

The Lions got revenge from an early season loss by blanking Louisville 5-0 in the round of 16. Sophia Gladieux and Anna Simon each scored a pair of goals, while goalie Bria Barraco stopped six shots in the shutout.

Later in the weekend, Penn State knocked off Albany 1-0 to advance to its first Final Four since 2007, a year where the Lions finished national runner-up. Mackenzie Allessie scored the lone goal in the win for Penn State.

There will be plenty of Big Ten flavor at the Final Four as Northwestern and Maryland will face off in the other semifinal. Penn State knocked off Maryland 5-1 in its final home game earlier this month to give the Lions the inside track to the conference title.

Women’s Soccer Rolls On

Penn State’s women’s soccer team opened NCAA tournament play with an easy 4-1 win against Quinnipiac at Jeffrey Field last weekend.

Penelope Hocking had a goal and two assists to lead the Lions, who are now 14-4-3.

Penn State, seeded No. 2, is home on Friday to face West Virginia in the second round of the tournament. The match, set to start at 4:30 p.m., will be shown on ESPN+.

Hockey Does it Again

Another week - another Friday night knocking off the No. 1 team in the country.

Penn State’s men’s hockey team stunned Minnesota 4-2 last Friday night in Minneapolis.

Connor MacEachern had two goals and an assist, while Connor McMenamin had three assists for the Lions in the win.

The Golden Gophers scored two third period goals on Saturday to salvage a split with a 3-1 win against the Lions. Christian Sarlo scored a first period goal that gave Penn State an early advantage.

A Strong Start

The Lady Lions are 3-0 following two more wins in the past week.

Penn State beat Fairfield 77-49 and Youngstown State 77-63 at the Bryce Jordan Center, a place they’ll be on Friday night to face Bryant in looking to move to 4-0.

Against Fairfield, four Lady Lions scored in double figures, led by Alexa Williamson’s 16. Makenna Marisa had 14 points and 10 assists, while Alli Campbell had 13 points off the bench that included three 3-pointers.

In the victory over the Penguins, Marisa and Leilani Kapinus each netted 21 points apiece to pace the Lions.

Volleyball on hot streak

After alternating wins and losses for much of the Big Ten schedule, Penn State has taken advantage of a bit of a soft spot in rolling off four straight wins. Now 21-6 and 10-6 in the B1G, the Lions face back-to-back ranked squads in Minnesota (No. 9) and Wisconsin (No. 3) this weekend at Rec Hall.

It should be noted that Penn State did record an impressive 3-1 win at No. 15 Purdue in its last outing. Kashauna Williams led the Lions with 22 kills as Penn State moved into fifth place alone in the conference.

Women’s Hockey Sweeps Brown

Penn State improved to 10-5-1 with a pair of non-conference wins against Brown at Pegula Ice Arena last weekend.

Olivia Wallin, Alyssa Machado, and Tessa Janecke each talled goals in a 3-0 win against the Bears. In the second game of the series, Julie Gough had a pair of goals to lead the No. 11 Lions to a 4-2 win.