Blue White Illustrated

N O T E B O O K MEN'S SOCCER Penn State dealt Vil- lanova its 8rst loss of the season, defeat- ing the Wildcats, 1-0, on Sept. 13 at Je9rey Field. Sophomore transfer Seth Kuhn scored the game's only goal, sailing the ball over Wildcats goalkeeper Carson Williams in the 8rst half. It was the 8rst goal that Villanova had conceded in 8ve games this season, and the Lions were able to hold on for the victory. Penn State coach Je9 Cook called it the team's best performance of the season. "The play we had at times was what we were hoping to strive for, hoping to achieve here," said the second-year coach a:er watching his team improve to 3-1-1. "We played at really good speed. We had possession, we were determined defensively, and maybe with the excep- tion of a couple moments, we controlled Villanova's very dangerous attack very e9ectively. So I'm very proud of the team – it was a really hard-fought game and I'm delighted with a 1-0 victory." The Lions 8nished with 17 shots com- pared to Villanova's four, while earning 12 corner kicks to the Wildcats' two. Goalkeeper Kris Shakes had three saves. WOMEN'S SOCCER A goal in the 86th minute gave No. 4 Virginia a 2-1 win over the No. 8 Nittany Lions on Sept. 15 at Je9rey Field. Ally Schlegel scored in her sixth con- secutive game for Penn State. In the 85th minute, the redshirt freshman mid- 8elder drew a foul just outside the box to set up a free kick. Schlegel beat her de- fender and redirected a pass from Sam Co9ey into the back of the net to tie the score, 1-1. But 31 seconds later, the Cav- aliers scored what would turn out to be the winning goal. Penn State slipped to 4-3-1 with the loss. The Lions played three ranked op- ponents in the 8rst eight games of the season. In addition to Virginia, they played No. 3 Stanford and No. 23 West Virginia and also faced undefeated Okla- homa State. FIELD HOCKEY Penn State fell to 0-5 on the season with a 2-1 loss at No. 5 Princeton on Sept. 15. The 17th-ranked Nittany Lions scored 8rst on a goal by junior Abby Myers, but Princeton an- swered with two second-half goals and held on for the win. "We're disappointed with the outcome of the game, but there are some things we can build on," coach Charlene Morett-Curtiss said. "We had a strong 8rst half but, once again, we need to do a better job creating scoring opportuni- ties. Turnovers in the second half really hurt us, but we gave great e9ort today." Princeton outshot Penn State, 15-3, and had a 6-3 edge in penalty corners. Fresh- man goalie Brie Barraco had eight saves to keep the game close throughout. ■ M E N ' S I C E H O C K E Y Minnesota transfer cleared to play for Lions this season Defenseman Clayton Phillips will be immediately eligible to play this season for Penn State and has two years of eligi- bility remaining after being granted a waiver by the NCAA following his trans- fer from Minnesota. "Clayton is an elite skating defenseman who will add depth and experience to our roster with his previous NCAA participation," coach Guy Gadowsky said. "He moves pucks ex- tremely well and likes to get up in the play, mak- ing him a great addition to our back end." A third-round draft pick of the Pitts- burgh Penguins in 2017, Phillips joins the Nittany Lions after spending the past year and a half playing for the Golden Go- phers. He had one goal and nine assists in 34 games last season and played 11 games during the 2017-18 season. "I chose Penn State [as a transfer school] because of the combination of athletics and academics," Phillips said. "Penn State provides every opportunity you need to succeed as a student-athlete in both the classroom and on the ice." The Edina, Minn., native joined the Go- phers midway through the 2017-18 season after spending parts of three seasons in the USHL. Phillips finished his stint in that league with the Muskegon Lumber- jacks, scoring four goals with five assists for nine points in 13 games. Prior to being traded to Muskegon, Phillips played 62 games over three seasons for the Fargo Force, tallying eight goals and 15 assists for 23 points. Internationally, Phillips has earned two gold medals with the U.S. Junior Select Team at the 2016 World Junior A Chal- lenge and with the U.S. Under-17 Select Team at the 2015 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament. Phillips also has two silver medals to his credit with the U.S. Junior Select Team at the 2017 World Junior A Challenge and with the U.S. Under-18 Select Team at the 2016 Ivan Hlinka Me- morial Cup. Phillips will become the 12th player with NHL rights to play for Penn State, and at 93rd overall, he is the fourth-high- est selection behind Eamon McAdam (70th, 2013), Max Gardiner (74th, 2010) and Evan Barratt (90th, 2017). The Nit- tany Lions now have seven NHL draft picks on their roster this season, as Phillips joins seniors Nikita Pavlychev (Pittsburgh) and Denis Smirnov (Col- orado), juniors Cole Hults (Los Angeles) and Barratt (Chicago), sophomore Aarne Talvitie (New Jersey) and freshman Kevin Wall (Carolina). ■ PHILLIPS

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