No. 6 Duke Falls to No. 7 Penn State 2-1

Saturday, September 17

Durham, N.C.

1:00 PM

Duke University

Penn State

No. 6 Duke Falls to No. 7 Penn State 2-1

9/17/2011 4:07:00 PM | Field Hockey

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – In a battle of top-10 teams, No. 6 Duke fell to No. 7 Penn State, 2-1, Saturday afternoon at Williams Field despite the Blue Devils controlling much of the possession. Duke outshot Penn State 15-9, but the Nittany Lions scored two first half goals and hung on defensively in the second half to earn the victory.

The Blue Devils fall to 5-2 overall, while the Nittany Lions improve to 4-3 following today.

“We played a great game today,” said senior Tara Jennings. “We were as close as close can be. We need to take the good things that we did today, which there were a lot of, and take that to tomorrow's game. We played a great game today and if we can do that and just capitalize on the chances that we got, we'll be in good shape.”

Duke came out firing in the first half, taking the first six shots of the game. However, the early momentum waned for the Blue Devils after Penn State registered the first goal of the game in the 25^th minute. The Nittany Lions moved the ball into the circle and Duke goalkeeper Samantha Nelson stopped the initial PSU shot, but Lauren Purvis got behind the defense and redirected the loose ball into the cage to give Penn State the early lead.

Seven minutes later, the Nittany Lions struck again to take a 2-0 advantage. After receiving a penalty corner, PSU leading scorer Kelsey Amy knocked in a shot from near the top of the circle, assisted by Whitney Reddig. Penn State would take the 2-0 lead into halftime, despite the Blue Devils outshooting the Lions 11-5 in the opening period.

“For us, we dominated most of the play today,” added head coach Pam Bustin. “After they scored that first goal, we needed to come back with an answer right away. Instead we kind of sat back and allowed them to earn a corner. We knew that corner was coming and it was a great shot. I think it just took us a little while to get back up on the board once that happened. The emotional energy that Penn State brought after that first goal, we didn't react to it properly. We need to put out the fire so to speak and take care of our business.”

Duke continued to fight in the second half, and the Blue Devils' persistence paid off in the 43^rd as Jennings tallied her second goal of the season off a Duke penalty corner. Senior Stefanie Fee and sophomore Emmie Le Marchand were both credited with assists on the play.

Yet Duke was unable to tie the score at two-all the rest of the way and Penn State escaped Williams Field with the win. Duke goalkeeper Samantha Nelson stopped three shots in the contest, but the Blue Devil offense pressured the PSU netminder, Ayla Halus, into 10 saves on the day.

The Blue Devils face another challenging opponent tomorrow as Duke takes on No. 2 Old Dominion at 1 p.m. from Williams Field. Live video, blog and stats will be available for fans unable to attend the match.

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