Penn State Sports Magazine
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N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 4 51 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M "I also want to take a moment to ac- knowledge and thank the women and men who have gone through this before me. The strength, courage, and deter- mination you've shown have not only been inspiring, but you have also helped advance the incredible progress we see in medicine today. "Your journeys have paved the way for better treatments and outcomes, and I'm deeply grateful for that. You have and will continue to help those who are just starting this battle, like myself. Your resilience is making a difference every day." Schumacher-Cawley said that her fo- cus going forward will be on "my family, my team, and of course, my health and recovery. It is business as usual at Rec Hall. I have the most amazing staff that doesn't skip a beat." On the court, Penn State is being led this season by graduate outside hitters Jess Mruzik and Camryn Hannah, ju- nior libero Gillian Grimes and freshman setter Izzy Starck. Through the Lions' first 19 matches, Mruzik was leading the Big Ten with an average of 4.72 kills per set, while Hannah was 12th with 3.44. Grimes was fourth in the league with 3.97 digs per set, and Starck, a four- time Big Ten Freshman of the Week, was second in the conference with 11.14 as- sists per set. Those players and other key perform- ers have helped return Penn State to the center of the volleyball world this season. Schumacher-Cawley said she would like to keep the spotlight pointed in their di- rection as the campaign continues. "We want the focus of the next several weeks and months to be on the team, their season and the incredible things they do as inspiring women in the class- room and on the court," she said. ■WOMEN'S SOCCER: Penn State faced two top-10 opponents during its mid-October road trip to South- ern California and came away with a tie and a loss. The 16th-ranked Nittany Lions fought No. 10 UCLA to a 0-0 deadlock on Oct. 17. Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Mackenzie Gress totaled a career-high 6 saves to keep the Bruins off the scoreboard. Three days later, PSU fell to ninth-ranked USC, 2-1. Graduate midfielder Rowan Lapi scored on a penalty kick in the 88th minute to draw the Lions even at 1-1, but USC responded two minutes later with the winner. Heading into its regular-season finale Oct. 27 at Ohio State, PSU was 11-4-3 overall and 5-3-2 in Big Ten competition. Redshirt senior forward Kaitlyn MacBean was third in the conference with 27 points on 13 goals and 1 assist. MEN'S ICE HOCKEY: In their first-ever matchup against Quinnipiac, the Nittany Lions rallied after falling behind by 3 goals in the first two periods but weren't able to complete their comeback in a 3-2 loss to the eighth-ranked Bobcats on Oct. 12 in Hamden, Conn. Senior forwards Ben Schoen and Danny Dzhaniyev scored third-period goals for the Lions, while junior goalie Arsenii Sergeev made 19 saves. Penn State had opened its season with a pair of wins over host Alaska. Senior defenseman Simon Mack scored in overtime to give the Lions a 4-3 vic- tory in the opener Oct. 5, while sophomore forward Aiden Fink had a goal and 3 assists in a 5-0 win over the Nanooks the following night. Fink was leading the Lions with 7 points (1 goal, 6 assists) prior to a visit from St. Lawrence for a two-game series Oct. 25-26 at Pegula Ice Arena. WOMEN'S ICE HOCKEY: The No. 12 Nittany Lions swept Dartmouth, 2-0 and 4-1, in a two-game series Oct. 18-19 at Pegula Ice Arena, extending their winning streak to five games. Junior goalie Katie DeSa got the win in both con- tests, stopping all 15 shots she faced in the opener and 12 of 13 in the finale the following night. Penn State had opened its season by splitting a pair of series against ranked opponents —No. 13 Northeastern at home and No. 9 Connecticut on the road — then swept Union in Schenectady, N.Y. Led by junior forward Tessa Janecke with 11 points (5 goals, 6 assists), Penn State was 6-2 heading into a visit to Columbus, Ohio, for the Ice Breaker Tournament. The Lions were set to face Cornell in their tourney opener Oct. 25. MEN'S SOCCER: Penn State's five-match unbeaten streak ended with a 2-1 loss at Indiana on Oct. 11. The Nittany Lions had earned 2-1 wins over Michigan State (Sept. 20), St. John's (Sept. 24) and Rutgers (Oct. 7), while tying No. 12 Maryland (1-1, Oct. 1) and UCLA (2-2, Oct. 4). Then came a visit to Bloomington, where the Hoosiers scored twice in the second half and dealt Penn State its first loss since Sept. 17. Following a 3-1 loss at Washington on Oct. 18, Penn State was 5-7-2 on the season and 2-4-2 in Big Ten play. Graduate forward Aboubacar Camara was leading the team in goals (5) and points (10). FIELD HOCKEY: Junior forward Ella Jennes scored in overtime to lift the 16th-ranked Nittany Lions to a 2-1 victory over visiting Michigan State on Oct. 20. Penn State finished the game with a 34-7 advantage in shots and an 18-4 edge in penalty corners, but it needed Jennes' backhand goal with 32 seconds remaining in overtime to pull out a victory at the Field Hockey Complex. The win over the Spartans broke a four-game Big Ten losing streak and im- proved Penn State's record to 8-7 overall and 2-4 in Big Ten play. Super senior forward Sophia Gladieux was leading the Big Ten with 43 points on 19 goals and 5 assists. CROSS COUNTRY: Florence Caron finished third overall at the Princeton Fall Classic on Oct. 18 in Princeton, N.J., helping the Penn State women take fourth place in the team competition. Caron, a senior from La Malbaie, Quebec, covered the six-kilometer course in a personal-best 19:25.1 to pace the No. 21 Nittany Lions. Four other PSU runners were among the top-35 finishers, a contingent led by junior Hayley Kitching in 27th-place overall with a time of 20:17.8. On the men's side, Penn State finished eighth as a team, with Nick Sloff lead- ing the way. The sophomore from State College placed 21st overall with a time of 23:43.3 in the 8K race. — Matt Herb F A L L / W I N T E R S P O R T S N O T E B O O K Through the women's soccer team's first 18 games, forward Kaitlyn MacBean was third in the Big Ten with 27 points on 13 goals and 1 assist. PHOTO BY KYLIE BARTON/PENN STATE ATHLETICS