After suffering a 5-2 loss to rival Old Dominion in its season opener Sunday, the field hockey team needed to release a few frustrations before returning from Norfolk, Va.
Yesterday, the Lady Lions found the vent they needed in Northern Illinois.
Sophomore midfielder Christine McGinley continued her early-season tear, scoring the team's first three goals, and senior Eleanor Stone added two goals and two assists as Penn State pounced on the Lady Huskies at Foreman Field, 7-0.
"I think they needed to go out and show what they were capable of doing -- block up their free hits and make the transition from defense to offense," Coach Charlene Morett said.
The Lady Lions defense swarmed Northern Illinois, limiting their opponent to just two shots on goal. Meanwhile, the offense launched a relentless attack, firing 28 shots at the Lady Huskies cage.
"Today, we did a great job of getting set quickly defensively," Morett said. "From there, we created opportunities for the midfielders and the forwards."
McGinley, who scored both of Penn State's goals in the loss to Old Dominion, scored the game-winner unassisted, 12:27 into the contest.
At the 17:53 mark, McGinley struck again on an assist from freshman Heather Atkinson. With 1:37 left in the half, McGinley completed her hat trick on an assist from Stone, which helped the Lady Lions to a 3-0 halftime lead.
In two games, McGinley has already scored more goals -- five -- than she did all of last season. The Medford, N.J., native, who previously played a forward position, tallied four scores in her freshman campaign -- including a goal in her collegiate debut against Michigan State.
"She has such a long reach. Most importantly, she comes out of the infield," Morett said. "A lot of teams don't expect her to come from there."
A little over a minute into the second half, sophomore Kirt Benedict extended the lead to 4-0 on an assist from Stone.
After being held scoreless Sunday by a stingy Lady Monarchs defense, Stone, the team's leading returning scorer, fired her first goal of the season unassisted at the 40:50 mark.
Junior Danielle Annibale provided the finishing touches to the Lady Lion rout, scoring on a feed from Jen Stewart and assisting on Stone's second goal of the game.
Morett, who was slightly perturbed about her team's lack of intensity inside the 25 against Old Dominion, had no complaints about Penn State's second effort on Foreman Field.
"(Sunday), we didn't do a good job getting set and blocking up their free hits," she said. "To beat good teams like Old Dominion, we have to be set to defend in the circle."
Note: The Lady Lions begin a four-game homestand at 4 Friday afternoon against Syracuse. . . . For the first time, all 12 home games are scheduled for the artificial turf beside Holuba Hall. . . . The weekend trip to Old Dominion was a homecoming of sorts for Morett, who was a coaching assistant with the Lady Monarchs from 1981-1983. During that stretch, ODU won two national championships.
