Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1539550
O C T O B E R 2 0 2 5 4 9 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M game, she's out there on the training field working on her own every time." In addition to a potent offense led by Kulpa, Raich and MacBean, the Nittany Lions have two experienced goalkeep- ers this year in redshirt junior Macken- zie Gress and redshirt senior Amanda Poorbaugh. Through eight games, Gress was seeing most of the minutes and had saved 72 percent of the shots she faced with a .94 goals-against average. With Dambach in her 19th season as head coach, the Nittany Lions will be looking for their 31st NCAA Tourna- ment appearance in the program's 32- year history. And they'll be leaning on their offensive stars to get there. "The difference right now is our front six," Dambach said. "It's making all the difference in the world, and they're an absolute handful to play against." ■ WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL: It's been a struggle for the defending national champions. Ranked second in the American Volleyball Coaches Association preseason poll, the Nittany Lions started out with a pair of wins over ranked opponents, sweeping No. 12 Creighton and edging No. 14 Kansas, 3-2, at the AVCA First Serve tournament Aug. 23-25. But then came losses to No. 13 Arizona State (3-1, Aug. 31) and No. 24 TCU (3-2, Sept. 1) at the State Farm Women's Volleyball Showcase in Pittsburgh, followed by a three- set loss to No. 4 Kentucky on Sept. 5 at the Penn State Invitational. Prior to the match against the Wildcats, sophomore setter Izzy Starck announced that she was stepping away from the team for the rest of the season to focus on her mental health. "Over the past several months, I've been facing challenges that have taken a toll on me mentally and emotionally," she wrote in an Instagram post. "I recognize that I need to take a step back and focus on getting the help and care I need at this time." Starck was a first-team All-American and AVCA national Freshman of the Year last season. Penn State turned to gradate Addie Lyon, a Saint Louis transfer, against Kentucky and in sweeps of New Hamp- shire on Sept. 7 and Bucknell on Sept. 9. The Nittany Lions headed into their home match against No. 7 Pitt on Sept. 17 with a 4-3 record and the No. 12 ranking in the AVCA poll. MEN'S SOCCER: Penn State fell to 2-3-1 with a 1-0 loss to host Rutgers on Sept. 12 in the teams' Big Ten opener. Redshirt fresh- man goalkeeper Jonathan Evans had a career-best 6 saves, but the Nittany Lions weren't able to able to counter a goal by Rutgers' Joschi Schelb on a free kick in the 78th minute. Schelb's shot rico- cheted off the bottom of the crossbar into the net to give the Scar- let Knights the only goal of the game. Prior to their trip to Piscataway, the Lions earned shutout wins over Stetson (2-0, Aug. 21) and Mercyhurst (5-0, Sept. 5) but lost to Army (2-1, Aug. 24) and No. 23 Missouri State (3-1, Sept. 1) while settling for a 1-1 tie in an Aug. 28 visit to Syracuse. Heading into a Sept. 19 visit from No. 1 Indiana, junior midfielder Caden Grabfelder was leading the Lions with 5 points on 2 goals and an assist. FIELD HOCKEY: The Nittany Lions headed into their Big Ten opener Sept. 19 at Maryland sporting a 4-1 record and the No. 17 ranking in the Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Associa- tion poll. After opening their campaign with a 5-1 loss at Virginia, the Nit- tany Lions prevailed in a pair of overtime games at Char Morett- Curtiss Field, topping Delaware, 3-2, in two extra periods on Sept. 5 and outlasting Saint Joseph's, 2-1, two days later. They earned two more home wins when they topped Bucknell, 2-1, on Sept. 12 and Kent State, 5-2, on Sept. 14. PSU outshot the Golden Flashes 25-9 to build some momentum heading into the conference season. Through five games, freshman forward Joji Purdy (3 goals, 2 as- sists) and junior midfielder Natalie Freeman (2 goals, 1 assist) were leading the offense. In goal, sophomore Aby Deverka had started all five games and had compiled a 2.04 goals-against average and .542 save percentage. CROSS COUNTRY: Graduate student Florence Caron paced the field at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational on Sept. 12, fin- ishing the 6-kilometer race at the Penn State Blue & White Courses in 19:54.7. The PSU middle-distance standout was 24 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Rose Coats of Maryland. With Caron leading the way, Penn State finished first in the team standings with 19 points. Syracuse was second with 50 points, while Pitt was third with 108. That same day, the PSU men totaled 62 points to place second behind Syracuse (15). Three Nittany Lions were among the top 20 finishers in the 5.2-mile race. Freshman Isaac Oppermann came in 14th with a time of 25:27.3. He was followed by junior Nick Sloff (18th, 25:28.4) and freshman Jaxon Schoedel (20th, 25:29.9). — Matt Herb O L Y M P I C S P O R T S N O T E B O O K Graduate student Florence Caron finished first overall at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational on Sept. 12, helping Penn State place first in the team standings. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS