Sports > November 29, 2007

By Hailey Robbins | Staff writer

The No. 9 Penn State field hockey team upset No. 3 Wake Forest 2-0 in the semifinal round of the NCAA tournament, cutting the Demon Deacon season to a close.

The Nittany Lions advanced to the championship game against the No. 1-seeded University of North Carolina and lost, 3-0. For the first 10 minutes of the game, the two teams appeared trapped in the middle of the field, pushing back and forth toward each end line, Wake Forest credited with the lone shot at the 7:48 mark when junior Michelle Kasold’s shot went wide. Thirteen minutes and 33 seconds into the first half, Penn State capitalized on a penalty corner, giving them a 1-0 lead as the clock struck 14 minutes with a shot from Mallory Weisen. This was Weisen’s fifth goal of the season. Five minutes later, the Nittany Lions received another corner, with the shot by Kiersten Wood blocked by junior Goalie Crystal Duffield. Sophomore Aileen Davis received a green card warning at the 25-minute mark, immediately following a penalty corner taken by sophomore Melissa Martin. Over the next five minutes, the Demon Deacons were awarded two more penalty corners, with shots taken by junior Minou Gimbrere, all blocked by Penn State goalie Jen Beaumont.

Penn State opened the second half with a shot from Weisen at the 44-minute mark, which Duffield blocked. Ten minutes later, the Deacons attempted to tie the game with a shot from senior Chelsea Cipriani, blocked by Beaumont.

“It seemed like we did not really realize that we were playing for a chance to make it to the NCAA Championship game, we lacked energy. We just weren't playing as cohesively as we could [and have in the past]. That is just how the NCAA tournament works though, it was full of surprises, no one expected most of the teams that ended up in the Final Four with us,” said Sophomore Raisa Schiller. The Nittany Lions increased their lead to two at the 59:28 mark with a goal from Shaun Banta, her eighth of the season. Banta stole the ball around the Demon Deacon 25 yard line, carrying in to Duffield’s circle. Unwilling to accept defeat, the Demon Deacons fired back with five shots until the close of the game. Kasold, sophomores Hilary Moore and Regina Shannon, Martin and Cipriani all offered shots at Beaumont. Beaumont made three saves in the vicious offensive surge, with two of the shots sailing wide past the cage. Wake Forest out shot the Nittany Lions 8-4, putting six shots on the board the second half to Penn State’s two. Although cutting the season just short of the NCAA tournament championship, the Demon Deacons concluded with an overall record of 16-6.

“This season was definitely a season where I learned a lot. No one would have thought we would make it so far because we are so young so I think we did really well and am very proud of our team. Penn State just knew exactly how to play us that game, if we played them again I think the outcome would be vastly different,” Schiller said.

Following the game, Kasold and Davis were both named All American through the National Field Hockey Coaches Association. Kasold was named First Team All American and Davis was named Third Team All American. Both girls were first team All Region picks at the start of the season.