Game Preview: Penn State Field Hockey vs. North Carolina
It’s the final (four) countdown.
Four teams remain in the 2022 NCAA Field Hockey Tournament with the semifinals getting underway with a battle between Penn State and North Carolina.
The Nittany Lions came into the tournament off of an early exit from the Big Ten Tournament when they lost to Michigan in the first round. But after opening NCAA Tournament play with a 5-0 victory over Louisville, the blue and white defeated UAlbany, who upset Michigan in the first round, to advance to the semifinals.
As for its opponent, the Tar Heels have not lost this season. The ACC regular season and tournament champions are 19-0 including victories over Delaware and St. Joseph’s to get to this juncture of the tournament.
Both teams are led by dominant offenses. The top-ranked Tar Heels finished the regular season first in the nation scoring 4.06 goals per game while the sixth-ranked Nittany Lions were ninth scoring just over three goals per contest.
Two of the top-10 scorers in the nation don the Carolina blue in Erin Matson and Ryleigh Heck. Matson finished the regular season second in the country scoring 1.29 goals per game with Heck finishing the regular season seventh with an average of .94 goals per game.
Matson scored three goals in North Carolina’s second round victory over St. Thomas, which pushed her senior year total to 25, while recording an assist in the first round. The Pennsylvania native’s assist went right to the stick of Heck for the 17th goal of her freshman campaign.
Sticking with the theme of top-10 scorers, the Nittany Lions have one of their own in Sophia Gladieux. The junior found the back of the cage on 21 occasions in the regular season for the nation’s third best scoring average of 1.17 goals per game. The Big Ten Player of the Year scored twice in the opening round victory over the Cardinals.
Assisting on the offensive efforts for Penn State is Mackenzie Allessie, who is second on the team with 12 goals. Allessie finished her senior regular season ranked second nationally with an average of .89 assists per game. One of five All-Big Ten First Team selections on the Nittany Lions, Allessie added two assists versus Louisville while recording the lone goal in the 1-0 victory over the Great Danes.
Scoring is not the only thing that these two teams do well as both teams have defended at great clips leading to top-6 average scoring margins.
The Tar Heels average scoring margin of 3.05 was the best regular season mark in the NCAA, and they did it with no set starting goalkeeper.
Abigail Taylor and Kylie Walbert split playing time nearly evenly through the regular season. Walbert started versus Delaware while Taylor started against St. Joseph, in both contests each goalkeeper played a half.
Taylor finished the regular season second nationally with a goals against average of .895. The sophomore allowed zero goals in the first two tournament games while making one save over that stretch.
Walbert has seen more shots in her playing time in the tournament, yielding three goals while making three saves increasing her goals against average to 1.33.
The Nittany Lions on the other hand have relied heavily on Brie Barraco, who has played all but 50 minutes this season. Barraco finished the regular season 13th in the country with a 1.189 goals against average. The All-Big Ten First Team selection has allowed zero goals while making 11 saves through the first two rounds.
Barraco’s goalkeeping is a main factor in Penn State’s first trip to the national semifinals since 2007 when they lost to North Carolina in the championship. The Tar Heels have won four more championships since then.
Two of the winningest coaches in Charlene Morett-Curtiss, who has won more than 520 times with the Nittany Lions, and Karen Shelton, who has nine NCAA Championships and over 700 wins with the Tar Heels, were on the sideline in 2007 and will be again on Friday.
Game start is scheduled for noon on Friday, November 18 at the home of the UConn Huskies in Storrs, Connecticut, with the winner set to face either Maryland or Northwestern on Sunday.
Justin Ciavolella is a second-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jtc5751@psu.edu.
