By Ajan Caneda

Writer

Following an overtime win against Towson, the women’s field hockey team defeated American at home 3-1 last Saturday to raise its league record to 2-2. Three days later, the women lost to No. 8 Penn State; their overall record dropped to 6-10 on the year heading into the last two games of the regular season.

The Bison were on the defensive early as American had 13 shot attempts in the first period, but Orange and Blue midfielder Kelly Stefanowicz ’13 scored the first goal of the game off a penalty corner by fellow midfielder Kelsey Mucelli ’15 and an assist by forward Rachel Misko ’14. Four minutes later, the Eagles evened the score with a penalty corner goal. The squads were tied going into halftime. The Bison quickly regained the lead as forward Katie Durkin ’13 scored an unassisted goal off a rebound. Although the Eagles outshot the Bison 11-6 in the period, goalie Erica Perrine ’14 countered with 11 saves for the game. Durkin ended any hope of an Eagle comeback, scoring in the 64th minute with an assist from Misko.

“At the end of the day, they came to play and we came to win. Our team worked together flawlessly. Everyone on our team had each other’s backs and there was a great deal of trust and desire to win the game,” Perrine said. “All it takes is a couple of opportunities and we were able to capitalize when they could not.”

On Tuesday, the Nittany Lions scored the first goal 13 minutes into the game. They outshot the Bison 13-4 in the first period but were held to one goal as Perrine had seven saves in the first half. Penn State reeled off 11 more in the second period and scored two more unassisted goals. Misko scored in the 64th minute, but it was not enough to secure the win.

“I think the last two games have been confidence boosters for us,” head coach Jeremy Cook said. “Penn State is ranked eighth for a reason and we missed some opportunities. The team was disappointed in the outcome, but I think that comes from our own increased expectations that we can be competitive with great teams so it is a big positive for us. I think we all feel as if we are hitting our stride right now, and are very excited for our must-win game this Saturday up at Colgate.”

The Orange and Blue close out the regular season this weekend at Colgate on Saturday and play No. 5 Syracuse on Sunday.