Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1511150
5 0 D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M WOMEN'S SOCCER: Fourth-seeded Penn State exited the Big Ten Tourna- ment in the semifinal round with a 1-0 overtime loss to eighth-seeded Iowa on Nov. 3 in Columbus, Ohio. The Hawkeyes led Penn State in both shots (14-11) and shots on goal (5-4), and eventually they cashed in, knocking in the rebound of a shot that ricocheted off the crossbar. The game was super senior defender Cori Dyke's 104th start at Penn State, a school record. Dyke has started every game of her PSU career. Following the regular season, she was named Big Ten Defender of the Year. The loss dropped Penn State's overall record to 13-2-4. The Nittany Lions, ranked fifth nationally heading into the postseason, were set to host Central Connecticut State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Nov. 10. It is PSU's 29th consecutive NCAA bid, the nation's second-longest streak. MEN'S ICE HOCKEY: Penn State opened Big Ten play with a 3-3 tie against Notre Dame on Nov. 4 at Pegula Ice Arena. Junior forward Xander Lamppa had a goal and 2 assists for the 17th-ranked Nittany Lions. Penn State held a 3-2 lead going into the third period, but a Notre Dame power play goal with nine minutes remaining tied the score and sent the game to overtime. The teams were still tied after a five-minute, three-on-three extra session. The Irish earned an extra point in the Big Ten standings with a 1-0 shootout win. The following night, it was Penn State that rallied. Freshman forward Aiden Fink and junior forward Dylan Lugris both tallied third-period goals to tie the score 2-2, with Lugris' equalizer coming in the final minute after Penn State had pulled senior goaltender Liam Souliere. The Lions also earned the extra point in the standings when Lamppa scored the only goal in the three-on- three shootout. Penn State held a 5-2-2 overall record and an 0-0-2 mark in Big Ten play heading into a two-game series at Michigan State Nov. 10-11. WOMEN'S ICE HOCKEY: After dropping five of six games against top-10 op- ponents in the season's first three weeks, Penn State reeled off four consecu- tive road victories to open play in the College Hockey America conference. The Nittany Lions swept Syracuse, 4-2 and 6-2, in late October, and followed with 4-2 and 8-2 wins over Lindenwood in the Nov. 3-4 series in St. Charles, Mo. In the series finale against Lindenwood, Penn State posted its highest scor- ing total since defeating Union 8-1 in October 2016. Sophomore forward Mya Vaslet put together the first hat trick of her college career, with the first of her 3 goals coming just 2:39 into the opening period. At the other end of the ice, senior goalie Josie Bothun recorded 26 saves, helping Penn State improve to 5-6-1 overall and 4-0-0 in the CHA. WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL: Penn State took the first two sets in its match against No. 1 Nebraska on Nov. 3 at Rec Hall, but the Nittany Lions weren't able to finish off the Cornhuskers. Nebraska rallied to win the third and fourth sets and took an early 8-3 lead in the fifth. Penn State tied the score at 9-9 and again at 13-13 on a block by senior middle blocker Allie Holland and super senior outside hitter Zoe Weath- erington. But the Cornhuskers followed with back-to-back kills to complete their comeback victory. Senior middle blocker Taylor Trammell hit .571 with 9 kills and 10 blocks, while senior outside hitter Jess Mruzik had 21 kills, 8 digs and 4 blocks. The 16th-ranked Nittany Lions fell in four sets to No. 19 Purdue on Nov. 5, dropping their record to 15-8 overall and 9-5 in Big Ten play. FIELD HOCKEY: Graduate goalkeeper Brie Barraco made 12 saves, but Ohio State outlasted Penn State 4-3 in double overtime in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Tournament on Nov. 2 at Ann Arbor, Mich. Senior forwards Carly Gannon and Sophia Gladieux and super senior mid- fielder Mackenzie Allessie scored for the Nittany Lions, with Allessie's fourth- period goal on a penalty stroke sending the game to overtime. An Ohio State goal ended the contest with 7:24 remaining in the second overtime period. Ranked No. 14 heading into the NCAA tournament, the Nittany Lions fin- ished their first regular season under coach Lisa Bervinchak Love with a 9-8 record and a 4-4 mark in Big Ten play. CROSS COUNTRY: Junior Maddie Ullom finished sixth overall at the Big Ten Championships on Oct. 27 in Madison, Wis., helping the Nittany Lions place fourth as a team, their highest finish since 2019. Ullom covered the six-kilo- meter course in 21:12.6 and became the first PSU woman to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors since Jillian Hunsberger in 2017. Redshirt senior Evan Dorenkamp paced the PSU men to a sixth-place team finish. Dorenkamp was 17th overall, covering the 8K course in 24:53.0. As with the women, the Penn State men turned in their best finish in the team stand- ings since 2019. — Matt Herb FALL SPORTS NOTEBOOK Maddie Ullom (362) finished sixth overall at the Big Ten Women's Cross Country Championships, helping Penn State place fourth in the team standings. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL