News for 17 March 2021
All the news for Wednesday 17 Marh 2021
Match Report. Ireland v Great Britain in Match 3 of SoftCo Series
Ireland's Roisin Upton sends in a high ball. Credit ©INPHO/Bryan Keane
The third and final match of the SoftCo Series took place this afternoon in Queen’s University Belfast, seeing an even performance from both GB and Ireland. Both teams having a large number of close opportunities in the circle throughout the match.
GB’s Owlsey got the game off to a fast start, passing to Rayer in the Irish circle, but Ireland defended well and created an opportunity shortly. O’Flanagan had the first real opportunity for Ireland, with Hinch’s save rebounding just out of Zara Malseed’s reach. Both sides brought plenty of energy to the game, seemingly relevantly evenly matched in the opening quarter. Some nice skill from Michelle Carey brought the ball right up the pitch create chance for O’Flanagan, however Hinch prevented her from putting Ireland on the score board.
There was some strong play seen in the backline from Tice and McCay pushing the ball up the pitch, with McFerran quickly clearing it away some of the GB opportunities that got through the Ireland defence. Strong running by Malseed saw Ireland awarded the first penalty corner of the game but Tice’s deflection was defended by GB. A challenge on the Irish circle saw Upton coming through with strong interception, running it up to Carroll winning a penalty corner by pulling it into a GB foot. Tice took the shot again, this time resulting in another penalty corner being awarded, with the following penalty corner also being kept out.
Owsley’s challenge on the Irish circle provided a penalty corner opportunity for GB, with Pearne-Webb’s shot finding Mullan’s foot and awarding a second penalty corner opportunity. A similar play saw the ball kept out and the first quarter ended 0 – 0.
An intense second quarter saw both teams challenging each other but neither being able to finish off the plays. Megan Frazer gave some strong passes down the line towards the forwards. Matthews managed to pass the ball to the top of the circle, allowing Daly to take it on the reverse, however it was a strong save from Hinch again. GB countered this with a fast-paced play, entering the Irish circle but McFerran slid under the ball and cleared it, while Frazer soared over her unable to slow her pace in her commitment to defend the goal. Ireland used the backline a lot opening up the game, but GB continued to try forcing them out left for most of the play. A McCay pass gave Watkins a long shot up the middle of the pitch towards a quite GB circle, however it was just out of reach of Naomi Carroll before going out of play. McCallin followed up with challenged on McFerran who calmly booted the ball out via the wing. Michelle Carey received the first green card of the game with some fumble tackles with 90 seconds left of the clock. Both teams continued to challenge each other throughout, with good approach play, however, strong defence denied the final touches for both sides. The half-time buzzer went, and the sides remained nil all.
GB got the second half underway with an aerial seeing the first free hit go to Ireland. After a bit of pressure on the Irish defence with GB pressing into the circle, Daly managed to enter the GB circle. Despite finding GB defence, it supplied Watkins with another opportunity on goal, but the ball just slipped past the post.
Frazer continued showing a strong front, reading the game well taking a bit of pressure off the defence as GB managed to take a couple of chances at getting into the circle. Torrans slipped the ball up to the GB circle where GB take back possession. An interception by Watkins sees a free to Ireland taken quickly by Daly who wins a penalty corner for Ireland. The ball is played into Tice tipping off a GB player awarding Ireland another penalty corner. Yet another penalty corner is awarded, with the final one deflected out wide and moves back down the pitch.
GB respond by pushing the ball back down the pitch, giving them control for a spell, with a few attempts at entering the circle but a strong defence saw Tice clearing the ball up towards Mullan in the GB circle, who dives to it but slides under the ball missing it slightly as it goes wide of the goal.
Ireland were awarded another penalty corner, with Upton with the drag flick, which is saved by Hinch bring it into one of her own players awarding Ireland another penalty corner. Upton again, this time Hinch controls it pushing it wide. GB putting the pressure back on McFerran again but McFerran swiping under and clearing the ball. Tice also showing a strong front not allowing GB in again pushing it out the wings. The last 30 sec see Ireland defending their goal with some nice passing between Tice and McCay.
After an intense penultimate quarter, both sides come back to the pitch fighting for a goal. The first penalty corner of the final quarter goes to Ireland. Daly interjecting, to Upton and Watkins at top shooting but the ball is saved again by Hinch. Frazer received a green card, but O’Flanagan finishing off the play by winning a PC. The shot comes in for McCay but is deflected wide.
While Ireland is down to ten players, GB’s Ansley continues to put the pressure on. Upton remains solid in defence, pushing GB away from the goal putting the ball up to Mullan, seeing Daly securing another penalty corner. The ball is fumbled at the top but taken under control, out to Upton, before another penalty corner is secured. The ball is stopped on the line under the body of Hinch after a scramble at the mouth of the goal looking like one of the Carey’s had gotten it across. A penalty stroke is awarded to Ireland and Upton steps up to secure the lead for Ireland, putting her third shot past Hinch in three games.
GB seemed to bring a renewed energy to the final few minutes to gain an equaliser. Robertson received a green card in the last five minutes putting GB down to ten players. Despite being a player down, Townsend presses on the circle, McCay takes back possession for Ireland in the home circle before being intercepted by Petters who steps up on the reverse stick beating McFerran, putting it into the corner giving GB the equalizer.
A yellow card for Watkins saw GB putting immense pressure on Ireland in the last few minutes. GB stretched the pitch rolling the ball around the back attempting one or two shots but remained denied another goal. Upton showing strong, keeping calm and controlling the ball denying GB any entry to the circle. A chance for Costello is shot across the circle and goes out wide. GB forced the ball into the circle in the last few seconds, but Ireland defends well seeing the game finish Ireland 1 – 1 GB.
Speaking after the match, Roisin Upton said “Immediate response is disappointment to the third game, the opportunity was there to win it by a couple. But in general, it’s been a fantastic four days, and we’ll take a lot of confidence into whatever comes next.
We’ve been training hard over the last eight months after we came out of lockdown in September, so it’s been great to have these games to get tested against the best. They’re the reigning Olympic Champions and we’ve got three fantastic games in the bag now that we can reflect on and look back on. There’ll be a lot of take away, it’s been a good four days.”
Ireland 1 (Upton), Great Britain 1 (Petters).
Ireland: A McFerran, Z Malseed, R Upton, K Mullan, S McCay, L Tice, N Carroll, C Watkins, S Hawkshaw, A O’Flanagan, S McAuley; M Carey, M Frazer, G O’Flanagan, N Daly, H Matthews, S Torrans, N Carey, D Duke.
Great Britain: S Robertson, I Petter, L Owsley, F Crackles, G Ansley, J Hunter, S Evans, E Rayer, S Townsend, S McCallin, L Unsworth, L Wilkinson, G Balsdon, H Pearne-Webb, A Costello, M Hinch, S Heesh, E Burge.
Irish Hockey Association media release
Series ends level after 1-1 draw in Belfast decider
GB's Ellie Rayer is beaten to the ball by Sarah McAuley in the Belfast match
Izzy Petter's late equaliser earned Great Britain a 1-1 draw with Ireland as the three-game series in Belfast finished level.
Petter hit the bottom corner with a reverse-shot four minutes from time and soon after Roisin Upton's penalty stroke put the hosts in front.
It was a match that came to life in the final quarter after a disappointing decider with few chances.
The sides will meet again at the Tokyo Olympics on 31 July.
GB won Saturday's opener 2-1 before the hosts hit back the following day with a comeback victory by the same scoreline.
It was all set up for a thrilling finale at the sun-kissed Queen's University venue but it was lacklustre fare in a first half devoid of clearcut chances.
Tense times
The final ball was missing from both teams in a cagey encounter before Ireland stepped up a gear in the third quarter and pressed for the breakthrough.
Sarah Hawkshaw prodded wide at the near post before skipper Katie Mullan sent her diverted shot from Elena Tice's pass just off-target.
GB keeper Maddie Hinch kept out two penalty corner strikers from Upton strikes but the midfielder made no mistake with 10 minutes left.
The penalty stroke was awarded after a goalbound shot struck Giselle Ansley's foot and for their third game running Upton fired past Hinch and into the GB net.
The Olympic champions chased a leveller and it arrived six minutes later as Petter drove through before providing a clinical finish.
What they said
Great Britain coach Mark Hager: "Ireland tested us again and got 14 corners which is not good for us. It highlights that our tackling and defence needs to improve.
"With our attacking in the final third we've been getting the ball in those zones a lot but not creating too much."
Ireland captain Katie Mullan: "There are so many positives for us and we take huge pride in our performances in the three games.
"We're disappointed to draw this match as we had opportunities to put them to bed but it's been a successful series for us."
BBC Sport
With no caps on offer, we doff our own to Hockey Ireland
By Rod Gilmour
Ireland's Roisin Upton sends in a high ball PIC: INPHO/Bryan Keane
Editorial — From an England or GB Hockey perspective, uncapped, unofficial international friendlies are funny old things.
You pull on a national shirt, line up for the anthems, flog yourself for four quarters and yet your cap number doesn’t move an inch.
England Hockey have an official stance on these glorified training ground games. Their remit is to keep away from all reporting of them. Save the flowers for next time should a player record a milestone cap.
This stance boggles some from other nations. Press box colleague Jaspreet Sahni, from the Times of India, was at a loss to explain GB Hockey’s ‘sorry state of affairs’ coverage of the just concluded SoftCo three-match series.
Not that the communications department being on furlough schemes had anything to do with it – nor is it their fault. This is, by all accounts, a coaching policy stretching back as far as I can remember.
I still have a missive sent in autumn 2014 kindly asking media present at a Bisham ‘international’ not to report on the uncapped match. ‘They are an opportunity for coaches to assess players from across the programme which is a set up they would like to keep’ was the concluding gist. So be it.
Irish hockey took a different mindset over the last four days. Coverage for shirt sponsors, women’s sport to name but two.
BBC Northern Ireland and RTE teamed up to stream and broadcast the three matches respectively and papers covered the matches. With the world silver medallists going for a first Olympics, RTE gave the sport some excellent airtime, including its upbeat opening montages.
“Such was Britain’s social media uninterest,” wrote the Irish Examiner, “their accounts chose not to post the result nor promote live streams available on both BBC NI and RTÉ on game day, preferring instead to let men’s international Alan Forsyth recount an admittedly humourous story about his mammy on Mother’s Day.”
Four years ago, the idea was mooted that British Olympic sports would face US-style TV trials to compete for places at Tokyo. The British Olympic Association initiative never took off while the plan didn’t seem to have legs for hockey’s team environment.
Thanks to these matches being broadcast, we certainly saw the Olympic effect take shape in the final match on Tuesday. With both squads bulging and soon to be whittled down to 16, these fine athletes were essentially playing for their Euro and Olympic places. It was worthy of cap status.
What we got to see was a behind-closed-doors, behind-the-scenes narrative which would otherwise have passed us all by without some Irish TV intervention.
Granted, the unofficial stance may be warranted as coaches plan their summer. But with no caps on offer, The Hockey Paper doffs its own to both broadcasters for the coverage.
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The Hockey Paper
Paul Gaudoin steps down as Hockeyroos Coach
Hockey Australia (HA) advises Paul Gaudoin has tendered his resignation as Head Coach of the Hockeyroos.
Gaudoin has been at the helm of Australia’s National Women’s Hockey Team since December 2016, guiding the team to second in the world rankings at the end of 2019.
“In light of the release of the findings and recommendations from the independent review that has been undertaken, Paul informed Hockey Australia that he has decided to stand down from the role,” said HA CEO Matt Favier.
“The past 12 months have been a difficult and taxing time for everyone involved in the High Performance program and especially the coaching staff.
“They have had to navigate the uncertainty of COVID while being an assuring and supportive presence for players, which Paul has done.”
“He has conducted himself with integrity, devotion and commitment to the cause and done his utmost to improve the athletes, both as hockey players and as people.”
HA President Mel Woosnam acknowledged Paul’s contribution to the Hockeyroos program.
“On behalf of the Board and staff of Hockey Australia, we extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to Paul for the commitment and dedication he has shown as Head Coach of the Hockeyroos,” said Woosnam.
“He has taken this team from number six in the world after the Rio Olympics to number two at the end of 2019 and this should be commended.
“Paul’s technical and tactical knowledge of the game is second to none and he has always conducted himself professionally and in the best interests of the program and the athletes. We wish Paul and his family all the best for the future.”
On the announcement Gaudoin said, “I have spent more than half my life involved with the High Performance Program as a player for the Kookaburras and as a coach for both the Hockeyroos and Kookaburras.
“Whilst I am disappointed to not see out the Olympic program to Tokyo, I am proud to have helped get the Hockeyroos to be ranked 2nd in the world.
“I wish both teams every success in Tokyo. It is time to focus on my family and begin a new chapter of my life. I love our game and hope it stays relevant in a competitive sporting environment.
“Thank you to all those staff and athletes who have supported me over many years. I have made many lifelong friends along the way.
“Finally I wish to thank my parents, Marilyn and Charlie, for their undying support, my children, Phoebe, Noah and Elijah for their patience and love, and most of all my wife Blair, who has been my rock throughout all these years.”
Assistant Coach Katie Allen will assume the interim Head Coach role, with Hockey Australia intending to announce a replacement for the Head Coach and Assistant Coach roles shortly that will take the squad through to the end of the Tokyo Olympics.
Hockey Australia media release
Hockey on track for World Cup Qualifiers
by Helge Schütz
Pictured at yesterday's press conference are from left, Beverley Coussement of Namdia, who also sponsor the women's national team, John Ekongo of MTC, Maggy Mengo, DJ Strauss and Marc Nel. Photo: Helge Schütz
NAMIBIA's national men and women's indoor hockey teams are hard at work preparing for next month's Indoor World Cup qualifiers in Durban, South Africa.
The president of the Namibia Hockey Union (NHU), Marc Nel as well as both teams' management yesterday paid a courtesy call on their main sponsor MTC to update them about their preparations and longer term plans.
Nel said both teams were hard at work preparing for the qualifiers which take place from 15 to 18 April, and that they hoped to qualify for next year's Indoor World Cup.
"Our women's side is the current Africa indoor champion, while our men's side lost to South Africa by a solitary goal in the final of the World Cup qualifier. We think that both our teams are well prepared and hopefully they will realise our goal of qualifying for the Indoor World Cup in Antwerp, Belgium in February 2022,” he said.
"Besides that our men's outdoor team is organising a test series against South Africa, which will hopefully take place in Johannesburg in May, where they will play a minimum of two tests. It will also form part of our preparations for the Africa Cup of Nations which take place in Accra, Ghana in January next year,” he added.
Nel said that hockey in Namibia had grown a lot in recent years, mainly due to improved infrastructure.
"Hockey has exploded in Namibia since the first artificial turfs were laid down here in Windhoek. At the moment we've got three artificial turfs while the Namibia Hockey Union itself is in the process of finalising its own turf. The construction has been finalised, but the carpet cannot be finished off until all the Covid regulations are back to normal again,” he said.
Last October, the NHU and MTC signed a sponsorship agreement of N$3 million over three years, and yesterday, John Ekongo of MTC said they hoped to see a good return on their investment.
“We've been very specific as far as our contract is concerned and we made it clear its no longer just about participation, its about participation with an objective which is to qualify for international tournaments, and hopefully that will include the ultimate one, the world cup.
Ekongo said they also wanted to see development taking place within hockey.
"N$3 million over three years is a lot of money and we don't just want to give money for the sake of giving it; we want to see Namibia being put on the map, as well as a consistency of performance, but we also want to see the sport being developed. When you talk about development, we want to see players eventually getting professional contracts, we want to see development at all levels so that the sport will grow exponentially across the country. Sport is a unifying factor and if we don't contemplate inclusivity in sport then we are failing in our efforts at nation building,” he said.
The captain of the national women's team, Maggy Mengo said they were determined to once again qualify for the World Cup, after they shocked South Africa four years ago in Swakopmund to qualify for the 2018 Indoor World Cup in Berlin.
Ï still get goosebumps from that and it was an amazing and a phenomenal experience for Namibia as a whole, as well as for the hockey community. We entered the World Cup as the underdogs, but when we left we were a team not to be underestimated, so we really made our presence felt. We are now ranked tenth in the world and first in Africa, so that's an amazing achievement, but the pressure is now on us as well,” she said.
"I believe we can beat South Africa again, but they want to qualify for the World Cup just as much as we do, so it will be a 50-50 game, but we will give it our all, we will go out there and really perform and try to defend our title as a nation,” she added.
DJ Strauss, the goalkeeper of the national men's team, said they were confident of making it this time.
“We've been training since January after we had a short break in December and our side is looking phenomenal. We've got quite a younger side than we used to have and the boys are looking absolutely fantastic, they are giving everything three to four times a week, so we are training very hard and not stopping. We have taken it up a gear and I'm quite confident that we are going to make it this time,” he said.
The Namibian
Tenaga tame Thunderbolts after a hard fight
By K. Rajan
Thunderbolts goalkeeper Muhammad Hamiz Mohd Ahir.
Tenaga Nasional made heavy weather of their Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) match against TNB Thunderbolts, eking out a 4-2 win at National Hockey Stadium yesterday.
Tenaga's goals were scored by Shahril Saabah (14th minute), Azrai Abu Kamal (43rd and 51st) and Mujahir Abdu Rauf 52nd).
Plucky Thunderbolts, who managed to frustrate Tenaga for long periods, replied through Azril Misron (37th) and Azammi Adabi (60th).
Thunderbolts will have to thank goalkeeper Muhammad Hamiz Mohd Ahir who single-handedly kept Tenaga at bay, thwarting eight of 10 penalty corners to avoid a rout.
Tenaga coach Nor Azlan Bakar was glad that his men managed to rediscover their touch in the third and fourth quarters to break Thunderbolts' resolute defending.
"Thunderbolt played well, they packed their defence and made it hard for us to break through.
"Our penalty corner attempts were poor.
"Although we wasted the penalty corners, we were still in the game and there was plenty of time for us to turn the game around.
"I told the players to keep calm and stick to our game plan during the first half break," said Nor Azlan.
In another MHL match, Maybank chalked up their third win, swatting aside Nurinsafi 4-0.
The Tigers' goals were scored by Muhammad Najmi Farizal Jazlan (10th, 37th), Muhammad Haziq Samsul (32nd) and Hafifihafiz Hanafi (44th).
RESULTS
Tenaga Nasional 4 TNB Thunderbolts 2, NurInsafi 0 Maybank 4, THT 4 UiTM 0, Sabah 0 UniKL 4
FIXTURES — TODAY
Women: Blue Warriors v UniKL Ladies (6pm, Pitch I), Sabah v Mutiara Impian (6pm, Pitch II), Young Tigress v PKS Uniten (8pm, Pitch I)
TOMORROW
Men: UniKL v Nurinsafi (6pm, Pitch I), Tenaga Nasional v Sabah (6pm, Pitch II), TNB Thunderbolts v UiTM (8pm, Pitch I), Maybank v THT ( 8pm, Pitch II)
* Matches at National Hockey Stadium.
New Straits Times
Campaign launched to fund Wales women’s hockey future
Wales in action at 2018 Commonwealth Games
A campaign to help raise funds to cement the future of the Welsh women’s team has been launched by senior players.
The target of the campaign #HOCI_GOLD is to raise the weight and value of a hockey stick and ball made of gold within a two-month concentrated fundraiser. The team is aiming to raise £30,000.
Wales’ Jo Westwood said: “The idea of this all is not just to fundraise now but can we create a better future for the players coming up and can we create a better environment for any other Welsh player in the future?”
Wales women are competing in EuroHockey II this summer, followed by the Commonwealth Games next year.
Hannah Bevan, executive lead for Hockey Wales, said: “This is a great opportunity for the squad to use their profiles to seek support from local businesses and the wider hockey family for their upcoming international season.
“Even though they have had very little pitch time over the past few months, they are showing great team spirit and resilience.”
You can donate to the #HOCI_GOLD campaign HERE and you can follow the squads progress on their Instagram @HOCI_GOLD.
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Maryland field hockey slots in at No. 10 in first NFHCA poll of the season
Shane Connuck
Maryland field hockey huddles before its 2-1 victory over Rutgers on Sept. 28, 2019 at Bauer Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey. (Julia Nikhinson/The Diamondback)
A wide-open Bibi Donraadt came flying down the pitch with just about two minutes left in Maryland field hockey’s match at Penn State on Sunday. Off a strong feed from a well-defended Emma DeBerdine, the junior forward flipped the ball past the Nittany Lions’ goalkeeper Brie Barraco to give Maryland the go-ahead — and game-winning — goal.
The Terps left State College, Pennsylvania, with a much-needed 3-2 win. The team had already dropped a pair of 2-1 matches to Northwestern and were blanked by Penn State, 3-0, on Friday.
And now, Maryland is ranked No. 10 nationally in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association’s first top 20 poll of the spring.
Last season, the lowest the Terps ranked was No. 4, finishing with a 17-4 record.
With its 3-3 start to this spring season, Maryland’s lower ranking seemed inevitable. And it has a crowd of Big Ten teams around it.
Of the 20 teams selected, six come from the Big Ten. Though every match won’t count toward a team’s conference record, all of Maryland’s 14 regular-season matches are against Big Ten opponents.
Northwestern, which Maryland lost to twice this season, is the second-highest ranked Big Ten school, at No. 4. The Wildcats have jumped out to a 5-1 start this season, with their only loss coming in a shootout against Penn State.
The Nittany Lions — with whom Maryland just split a weekend series — are ranked No. 7. Despite their wins over No. 4 Northwestern and the No. 10 Terps, a pair of losses to No. 3 Iowa have them at 2-3 on the season.
The Terps will see the highest-ranked Big Ten team in Iowa City, Iowa, during the first weekend of April. Iowa is one of three Big Ten teams that have posted 5-1 records through the first three weeks, joining No. 4 Northwestern and No. 9 Rutgers — which Maryland will face twice in College Park to cap off the regular season.
Just behind the Terps at No. 11 is Michigan, which has only played three matches this season as a handful of its games were postponed due to COVID-19 protocols. The Wolverines come to College Park for a weekend set on April 10 and 11.
While the Terps’ initial ranking may be lower than some would’ve expected, coach Missy Meharg has said the team is just getting started.
“We’re just still coming into our own,” Meharg said. “I don’t think we’ve seen anything what this team can do from a collective offense.”
The Diamondback
No. 7 Penn State Field Hockey Invades Michigan State for Weekend Series
Nittany Lions battle Spartans on Friday and Sunday
THIS WEEK'S PREVIEW
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State Nittany Lions (2-3, 2-1 B1G) trek to East Lansing, Mich., for two games this weekend. The Nittany Lions battle the Michigan State Spartans (1-4, 1-3 B1G) on Friday, March 19, at 3 p.m. and then meet them again on Sunday, March 21, at 12 p.m.
For the 2020-21 Big Ten season, the Big Ten has stated that in cases where teams are scheduled to play each other twice during the year, only the first meeting counts towards the Big Ten regular season standings.
Penn State is coming off a weekend split with visiting Maryland. The Nittany Lions shut out the Terrapins 3-0 on Friday at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex and then fell victim to a late goal in a 3-2 loss to Maryland on Sunday.
Michigan State is coming off two tough losses at Rutgers last weekend. The Spartans dropped a 2-0 game on Friday and then fell 5-1 on Sunday. Michigan State also has losses to Northwestern and Maryland and owns a 2-0 win over Indiana.
The Nittany Lions lead the all-time series with Michigan State 33-10. Penn State won the last meeting, a 3-1 win in East Lansing on Oct. 18, 2019.
Penn State is ranked No. 7 in the latest NFHCA Coaches Poll (3/16/21). The Nittany Lions will travel to Rutgers on Friday and Sunday, April 2 and 4, for two contests.
Fans are encouraged to follow the Nittany Lion field hockey team online at www.GoPSUsports.com (click teams, click field hockey), on twitter @pennstateFH and on facebook at www.facebook.com/pennstatefieldhockey.
NOTES
BREE BEDNARSKI B1G OFFENSIVE AoW (3/16)
Senior Bree Bednarski was named Big Ten field hockey Offensive Player of the Week for the week ending 3/14/21. Bednarski tallied points in each of Penn State's home games against Maryland this weekend at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex. Bednarski assisted on Penn State's first goal Friday, taking the penalty corner that led to an Anna Simon goal in the team's 3-0 shutout victory over the Terrapins. Two days later, Bednarski kept Penn State in contention in a tough 3-2 loss to Maryland. Bednarski had a goal and an assist in the game.
NITTANY LIONS SPLIT WEEKEND SERIES WITH VISITING MARYLAND
Anna Simon and Sophia Gladieux each had a goal and an assist and Brie Barraco collected seven saves in a 3-0 shutout win over Maryland on Friday, March 12, in the first of two games against the Terrapins. The win counted in the Big Ten standings as well. Two days later, Maryland scored a late goal to walk away with a 3-2 win at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex. Bree Bednarski had a goal and an assist in the contest.
BARRACO GRABS 12 SAVES, LIONS DOWN WILDCATS IN SHOOT OUT
Sophomore goalie Brie Barraco collected 12 saves in Penn State's March 5 win over Northwestern in Virginia Beach. Her outstanding effort in the cage led Penn State to a 2-1 victory in a shoot out. Bree Bednarski scored the Lions' goal in regulation and the team won the shoot out 4-3, with Barraco stopping two Northwestern shots.
PENN STATE DROPS TWO 1-0 GAMES TO IOWA
The Penn State Nittany Lions battled Iowa evenly for the entirety of its season opener on Feb. 28, but dropped a close 1-0 game to the Hawkeyes. While the teams were basically dead-even statistically, Iowa used a fourth quarter goal to secure the victory. A week later, the two teams met again in Virginia Beach and this time Iowa made a second period goal stand, in the game played on March 7.
PENN STATE RANKED #7 IN NFHCA POLL
The National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) announced that the first coaches poll of the 2020-21 season would be released on March 16. The Nittany Lions are ranked No. 7 in the rankings.
TRIO OF LIONS NAMED TO BIG TEN'S PRESEASON PLAYERS TO WATCH TEAM
Three Nittany Lion seniors have been named to this year's Big Ten Preseason Players to Watch team. Captains Abby Myers, Madison Hutson and Emma Spisak have been named to the team.
Go PSU Sports
The global hockey community pays tribute to Grace Robertson
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) is saddened to have learnt of the recent passing away of Grace Robertson (USA), former President of USA Field Hockey, Hall of Fame Honorary Member, PAHF Board Member and Member of the International Federation of Women's Hockey Associations (IFWHA) Council.
In a condolence letter sent to USA Field Hockey, FIH President Dr Narinder Dhruv Batra and FIH CEO Thierry Weil wrote: “Ms Grace Robertson will be remembered as a very committed member of the global hockey community, who did a lot for future generations.”
PAHF President Alberto Coco Budeisky said: “When I started at PAHF, I remember very well how important it was for Grace to involve new members, like me, in all projects. She was so helpful and welcoming! Her dedication to hockey was remarkable.”
“Grace was absolutely committed to field hockey and made a major impact in shaping our sport, serving in so many leadership roles in USA Field Hockey,” said Simon Hoskins, USA Field Hockey’s Executive Director.
FIH site