If this year's game is anything like last year's game, Penn State field hockey goalie Annie Zinkavich won't have a chance to defend her Defensive Player of the Week title against Syracuse.
The Penn State field hockey team will play its first game of a four-game road trip when it travels to Syracuse today for a 3 p.m. game against the Orangewomen at Coyne Field.
Last year's game between the two teams saw Penn State earn a 2-0 win after allowing Syracuse only one shot on goal the entire game.
Both teams are coming off upsets of top-ranked opponents, with the Nittany Lions beating North Carolina 2-1 on Sunday and Syracuse topping Ohio State 1-0 in overtime on Saturday.
With the win over the then-No. 6 Tar Heels, Penn State (4-0) moved up five spots in the rankings to No. 7 while Syracuse (3-2) broke into the rankings at No. 20.
Syracuse senior goalie Audrey Latsko can also boast of earning the Defensive Player of the Week award along with Zinkavich.
Zinkavich already has two shutouts on the season and boasts a 0.64 goals against average.
"Annie has played very well since the beginning of the season," senior forward Kate Bender said. "I think it's great for her and she's definitely earned it, but it doesn't really change anything as far as our game plan goes."
Penn State field hockey coach Char Morett feels the team is playing with a large amount of confidence right now and pointed to the defense as doing an outstanding job. However, she is not looking past Syracuse.
"Syracuse at Syracuse is always a tough game," Morett said. "We've had an edge over them the last couple years, but last year's game was very competitive."
With Syracuse already playing several Big Ten teams, Morett feels they will have another advantage over the Lions. Syracuse's last two games were against Big Ten opponents in Ohio State and Michigan State.
"They're going to be a little bit more prepared for our style," Morett said.
Nonetheless, Penn State will bring its usual style of crisp passing, quick moves, and aggressive defense to the field.
Morett is looking for the offense to develop and earn more opportunities to score.
In Penn State's last two games, against Temple and UNC, there were many missed opportunities, both on penalty corners and in terms of finishing plays.
